


Across the Stars, I am Home

by NorthSol



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux & Phasma Friendship, Droid friends, Hurt/Comfort, Hux and Phasma friendship - Freeform, Jedi Armitage Hux au, Jedi Hux, M/M, Rey and Hux friendship, Slow Burn, Undercover hux, gap year between tlj and tros, more tags to be added as the story progresses, redemption fic, retelling of the movies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:54:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22188979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthSol/pseuds/NorthSol
Summary: Before leaving to go undercover in the First Order, Armitage Hux had made promises. Keep an eye and report when able to the republic, and later the resistance. Keep tabs on the dark force user Snoke. And most important of all: Bring Ben Solo home. So far Hux had managed, or was managing, 2 out 3.Then there is an awakening.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren, Finn/Poe Dameron (background), Leia Organa/Han Solo (background)
Comments: 91
Kudos: 269





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please Note:  
> In some places I do play around with canon/EU(Legends) to suite the narrative. Nothing too crazy I swear.  
> Also it has been ages since I last wrote anything besides academic texts so please excuse any stiffness and rusty writing hinges.  
> I have never written for Star Wars, but always wanted to. When TFA came out I had many ideas but was intimidated by all the amazing writers already out there. Now I am older and got over it.

Fast, firm steps sounded in the cold corridors of the Finalizer, one of the most renowned star destroyers of the First Order on account of housing not one, but two of the most infamous people in the order. The dark force entity known as Kylo Ren, apprentice to the illusive but overshadowing supreme leader of the order. And General Hux, one of the youngest officers to ever be made general in both First Order history as well as in the history of the old empire.  
Said General marched into his private quarters and locked the doors behind him with his personal codes. Kylo Ren was off the ship, bound for Jakku in search of a map that would lead them to the last known Jedi in existence. A mission directly from the supreme leader, or so Ren claimed. Space magic mumbo jumbo as Hux had quietly snickered about with some of his most trusted officials, after he had ordered resources be given Lord Ren for his new mission. 

In the privacy of his own rooms though, Hux lowered himself to the floor, sitting cross legged on the hard durasteel floor. He closed his eyes and opened himself to the force, a relief to allow it to flow through him again after having to lock himself up as to avoid detection by Kylo Ren or worse, the supreme leader. When Lord Ren was off the ship however, he suspected the supreme leader’s eyes and mind was firmly on his volatile apprentice allowing Hux to commune with the force and more importantly: through it. Through his mind’s eye he sought out familiar energies and approached carefully to establish a brief contact. 

_‘General, Ren has found Lor San Tekka and is even more relentless in his search for Master Skywalker. Something is coming, and I fear Snoke feels it too. It could push him towards the weapon early, please continue to push at the republic. They are in acute danger.’_

He waited for the gentle push through the force that told him the message had been received, but a ping on his comm broke him out of his commune and he locked himself back up quick and efficient. Answering the call before he made it up from the floor he did a quick sense sweep to feel for Ren’s return. Nothing yet, it wouldn’t do to be taken off guard after so long in the trenches of the First Order. 

“Sir, Lord Ren’s ship just checked in. They are on their way back to the Finalizer, he has a resistance prisoner,” Chief Petty Officer Unamo’s voice sounded over the comms. 

Of course he did, Hux withheld a sigh and instead answered the officer with a brief acknowledgement before making his way from his rooms and back to the bridge. He knew the resistance liked the mindset of “no man left behind”, but Hux could not risk his position for just anyone. And he was far beyond feeling like the worst being in the galaxy for tallying up people’s worth against his own risk. 

It didn’t take long before Ren’s ship appeared on their scanners and one of the hangar bays were opened to him as Hux made his way down to greet his supposed co-commander. Hux avoided seeing Kylo Ren as much as he could, not for fear of being discovered, not really. That fear had disappeared quickly after first meeting Ren a few years back and neither seeing or sensing any form of recognition from the dark “knight”. No, seeing Ren always brought with it a deep ache from wounds that still felt raw even if they were no longer new. 

When Hux had left his master behind to enter into this role he had built for himself, he had done so with a promise to see Ben Solo returned to the light. Returned to his family and friends, that had been the primary goal. Information of the First Order was to be a useful side-benefit. And Hux had tried even before he came face to face with the man, using wit and cunning he had attempted to find where Ben was, what he was doing. All he found were whispers of an apprentice under the just as illusive Supreme Leader. Snoke. 

After he met Ben again though, he had tried so very hard to influence him back towards the light. But whenever he could let up his self-imposed lock enough to try and influence Ben, the man went running to either his master or his idolization of Darth Vader. His own grandfather, but not the truth of the man.

After years of trying to coax Ben back to the light though, Hux had begun seeing him as a lost cause. He could not risk his position or being discovered, and there was only so much he could do as General Hux. He did not even know how long it had been since he had called Kylo: Ben in his own mind. He was simply Kylo Ren now, and instead of pain there was simply the ache of an old loss. The General fixed his gaze onto the dark wraith. 

“Ren, I hear you have caught a resistance operative. I thought you said you wouldn’t need to take the old man prisoner.” It did bring a small joy to see Ren’s spine stiffen in annoyance whenever Hux used what he called his General’s bark. 

“Lor San Tekka is dead,” came the slightly distorted reply from behind the mask. The tone produced was dark and gritty. “Although resistance friendly, he was not one of them. The resistance was there in the form of a pilot and likely a droid,” Ren continued as a man was dragged into view behind him by two stormtroopers. 

Hux felt his heart sink as he saw the bruised face of none other than Poe Dameron. He had always been reckless, Hux knew that much from reading reports, but he had hoped one of the most famed pilots of the resistance had at least some tactical skill beyond “cocky” and “noble of heart”. 

“Bring him to the Brig and see that he is given proper welcome,” Hux said as his mind scurried over possibilities to help the pilot before he was unable to help himself at all. Most he could think of was too risky with Ren aboard the Finalizer and asking if he didn’t have anywhere else to be would be too suspect, even if Ren couldn’t make out a Jedi right under his nose. 

“His droid has the map to Skywalker, but it was sent away by him and remains on Jakku. We’re not going anywhere till it is has been found, General.” Ren walked past him, likely to his own quarters before he would personally see to Dameron. Most likely to force his way into the pilot’s mind again, it was the only way Hux figured Ren knew about the map’s whereabouts.

Hux watched said pilot be dragged away towards the brig, mind still turning every possibility. Only one solution came up as viable, one that would make sure Hux was above suspicion. This was not what he had hoped to use this card on, he had spent over a year on this little project. But he could see no other way, so perhaps the force had plans on its own for his little trump card. When he zeroed in on stormtrooper FN-2187 who came stiltedly out of the craft, he could feel the man’s panic even with his self-imposed dulled senses. 

“FN-2187,” the sharp voice of Captain Phasma broke through the panic in the stormtrooper and he hurried to his captain.  
It was indeed time to let this particular bird fly, and hope it got away so it could grow. Turning and making for the bridge, Hux in stead made sure he was close to FN-2187 and Phasma. It came as no surprise when Phasma ordered the trooper to see reconditioning. It wasn’t the first time such and order had been issued, but it would be the last time FN-2187 had to pretend he had gone through the program. Hux could already feel the stormtroopers conflicting emotion, even without Hux’s encouragement the man had lost his belief in the First Order, and now he had no convenient lies to cover up the conflict he felt. Brief images of gunning down innocent villagers on Jakku flitted over to Hux, and he closed his eyes for a brief second. He knew all too well what kind of suffering the First Order brought with it. Violence would only ever beget violence. He opened his eyes, severing the flow of FN-2187’s despair and conflict.

“FN-2187.” said stormtrooper jumped around and failed to hide the small gasp at standing face to face with General Hux. 

“G-general…” he stammered, forgetting to salute in his spiking fear.

“FN-2187,” Hux repeated, voice growing gentler as his eyes sought out the eyes hidden somewhere behind the black visor of the white helmet. “Isn’t it time you left?” He simply asked before strolling past him, back to the bridge. 

“Time I… left,” he could hear it muttered behind him. Despite the slow utterance, Hux knew he would soon have reports on an escape. Hopefully not an attempted one. 

*

Only once before had he set this kind of havoc in motion. But the thrill and anticipation as he stood in parade rest on the bridge was certainly the same. Stormtroopers had little to no flight training, FN-2187 would need a pilot. TIE-pilots and Stormtroopers usually kept to their own group, thus FN-2187 was very unlikely to have TIE-pilot friend. Hux also knew for a fact that FN-2187 was no fool, if he hadn’t been so prone to empathy he would have been a squad leader at the very least. Hux was therefor confident that the stormtrooper knew he couldn’t really trust any of his fellow stormtroopers to mutiny with him, and again TIE-pilots and troopers weren’t known to mix. From a pure selfish survival point of view, Dameron made for the best option. But Hux had no doubt FN-2187 would also try and work in his new found moral stance. He really had to school his face to avoid the tiniest of smirks that threatened to make it onto his lips, although he doubted anyone would fault him for it as they had just captured one of the more renowned resistance pilots. But that just meant he had to act that much more angry once Dameron, hopefully, escaped. 

He did not have to wait in suspense long, a message from one of the TIE-hangars soon came through that a TIE-fighter had gone rouge and was trying to leave the hangar. There was also a gunner aboard as a TIE-fighter’s automatic systems would never fire inside the ship. The bridge became practically a flurry of action as the TIE-fighter managed to lose the tether and leave the Finalizer. Now it was really up to the pilot Dameron to show why he was one of the best pilots in the resistance. 

“Sir, they’ve taken out our turbo lasers!”

Hux cast a glance at one of the screens with intel on the ships condition and back over at his officers “bring up the ventral canons,” it was the appropriate response, but he turned back to windows. 

“Ventral canons online and hot, sir!”

“Fire.” he did not take his eyes of the TIE-Fighter that was steadily making its way back to Jakku. No doubt Dameron intended to find his droid. 

The fighter’s guns took out one of the missiles, no doubt manned by FN-2187. It appeared Hux’s instincts and watered-down senses had been correct about the empathic stormtrooper. His training was still clearly lacking though, for a second missile was getting too close to be target properly by the fighter. With its current course it would blow the escapees to pieces with no chance of hobbling down to Jakku. There was no time for risk calculation here, he had to act.  
The sudden drop of force suppression was near dizzying, but it was enough for Hux to reach out and get ahold of the missile and change its course slightly. The missile smashed into one of the TIE-wings, keeping the cockpit intact and the Finalizer could only watch as the fighter spiraled down to Jakku’s surface. Ren’s approaching presence was almost stifling with Hux in his current state, and he hurried to clamp down locking the force out once again. Ren still reminded him of predator sensing prey as he marched onto the bridge. 

“General Hux, is it the resistance pilot?”

“Yes,” he could feel his own voice having become shaky and straightened up in lieu of clearing his throat. “And he had help form one of our own, right now we are looking through the records to see which stormtrooper-“

“The one from the village, FN-2187,” Ren cut him off. And it was certainly a little disconcerting. If Ren had noticed FN-2187, even if Hux knew his shielding of FN-2187 would not be at the forefront of the trooper’s mind, a more throughout search would undoubtedly reveal Hux’s hand in FN-2187’s build towards turning a complete traitor to the order. Something was coming alright, and Hux had likely helped kick the series of oncoming events into motion. He had no choice but to leave the rest up to the ways of the force and do his best to navigate whatever kinds of curveballs he was thrown. 

“They went back to Jakku. Undoubtedly to retrieve the droid,” Hux moved everything along, turning to Captain Phasma who had also made her way to the bridge. 

“Send a squad to the wreckage!” He ordered and received a slight nod. 

“Are you certain your men can handle such a task?” Ren jabbed.

“My men are exceptionally trained, “the bristle came without conscious though at this point. Then again Kylo Ren’s being made him much more want to bristle and grit teeth anyway. 

“They’re certainly good at committing high treason.”

“We have more important things to do than to diddle after maps allegedly leading to one of the old coots of fame from the previous war,” Hux drawled and still felt an internal wince at the disrespect against master Skywalker. 

“I want that map, General, make sure your men find it this time.” Ren stepped into his space, finger bare inches from Hux’s face. He grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes into a glare, staring Ren down and not wavering even after Ren turned to walk away briskly. Hux did not remove his glare until the Master of the Knights of Ren was well off the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who read this humble beginning: thank you for giving this story a shot! And I hope you will continue to enjoy!  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated, nit picking and pure criticism is not. 
> 
> Story Notes:  
> Hux's Force Block is inspired by the stories of the Jedi who cut themselves off from the force for various reasons, even to avoid detection when nothing else can mask their presence.


	2. Chapter 2

They failed to find both the droid and the fugitives. Reports of the traitorous stormtrooper in league with a local girl from Jakku reached them soon after. They had the droid with them and had managed to flee the god’s forsaken planet in a stolen ship. Ren had not been very pleased with the report and had thrashed the closest console with that abomination of a lightsaber he carried with him. Hux used Ren’s lapse of control to order most of the fleet back towards Starkiller Base, for all intents and purposes turning his back on Ren’s mission to retrieve the map to Skywalker. He was using the failures as an excuse to withdraw priority resources. Getting to poke at Ren’s shortcomings was just a bonus, and practically a hobby at this point. He knew he shouldn’t, but resentment against Ren ran deep in him. If nothing else for the fact that he had stolen Ben away. 

As a way of appeasement, and saving money by sparing consoles and walls, he had put out a reward for the capture of the BB8-unit and the two fugitives believed to travel with it. It would have to do for now. Hux really had other things to think, and worry, about. 

The Starkiller was a monster of a construction. A gutted planet mutilated and corrupted into the First Order’s main base and pending super weapon. When Hux had first been brought to Starkiller, shortly after construction had begun, he had to excuse himself. Concealed in his room he wept for what had once been Ilum, the very place Hux had harvested his first and then only kyber crystal for his saber. He had no doubt Snoke had pushed the First Order here, the ghoul would stop at nothing until everything about the natural and neutral force had been brutalized or burned to dust. To ground himself he had gone through his footlocker and found the pouch that hid his deconstructed lightsaber, safer this way as a deconstructed lightsaber gave off less force energy than a whole one. He had cradled the green crystal, feeling his resolve strengthen. He would help stop the First Order or die trying, already back then Hux had begun his distancing from hope that Ben Solo would ever come back. 

That night he had gone into what was shaping up to be the underbelly of the great beast that would become Starkiller. He had found his way into the as of yet untouched parts of the kyber caves. Ren wasn’t on the planet back then, but it also would not have mattered, as the force was strong on Ilum and would mask the presence of one jedi surrounded by kyber. As he moved through the caves, he searched for a new crystal for the changed man he had become. He almost thought he could hear the force weeping for what was to come through the gentle hum of the crystals. 

Deep within the caves, he heard the call of a crystal resonating with his very soul. He extended his hand and called out back to it through the force, feeling it loosen and come out towards him. The white crystal landed in his hand gently, warm to the touch and gently humming. He brought his other hand to it and held it up in front of himself, channeling all of himself into it. His past, his present, and his hopes for the future. His last crystal had taken the color green as he grasped it with a shaky and eager hand. This time the crystal seemed to take longer to turn from its white glow, but Hux had no illusion that the force considered him neutral by any means. The change started from within and spread out, the hum changing into a new song meant only for him. 

His new crystal shone with a purple hue, vibrant and warm. Hux knew the lore of kyber crystals and their known color changes. He couldn’t say the crystal didn’t fit him. For he felt more whole and at his correct place in the universe than he had in years, standing there with the purple crystal in his hand. He had gathered the parts, easy enough when you technically were part of the engineering corps, and built his new saber locked in his own rooms. The saber was sleek in appearance, light in his hand. It allowed for quick maneuvers and favored the lighter forms Hux always had preferred for himself anyway. Although it was now a whole saber, it held no history, and Hux was careful not to touch it too much. Vowing to take it into use the day he could stop being General Hux, something the saber seemed to accept for it was almost as if it slept while hidden in the General’s rooms. 

Shortly after building his new lightsaber, many of the caves could no longer be accessed as Starkiller began taking shape. Hux mourned for the planet, but did not let it impact his daily work with the First Order. He sent regular reports back then to the resistance, pieces of schematics coupled with heavy warnings about the as of yet dormant nightmare of the galaxy. 

Once Ren became a fixture in his life though, the reports became scarcer and less elaborate. Hux instead focused on creating mistakes in most parts of the construct, hiding them as he went along. It wouldn’t stop the beast if it was ever woken before the resistance or the republic could destroy it, but perhaps it could weaken the blow. It would still be devastating, but not as galaxy shattering as it could have been. So far there had been no suspicion, no reports of sabotage or an increase in engineering mistakes. Hux still kept an eye on it now, as the General. 

Bringing himself back to the present, away from his musings, he watched as the shuttle approached on of the landing pads on Starkiller. They had barely touched down before he received a summons to the audience chamber the Supreme Leader used to communicate with them. Ren would no doubt be present as well. Hux gave a gentle sigh as he made for the audience chamber. It was a pretentious thing, large and dark. Meant to be imposing and dramatic. All it really did was make Hux question just how fragile Snoke’s ego was that he needed a huge hologram projection of himself on some kind of stone throne to communicate with others. He snorted to himself as he rounded a corner.

Snoke was normally no laughing matter, and Hux still took great care to conceal himself from him. So far though, the ghoul seemed to believe Hux was more or less force null. One of the poor sods of the universe that was so closed off from the force they felt more dead than alive to those with an aptitude and sensitivity to the force.

Ren was already standing in the audience chamber, looking up at the empty podium where his master would eventually flicker into view. Hux said nothing as he strode up the few steps to stand side by side with Ren. Almost as if sensing his arrival, something that always made uncomfortable ice slide down Hux’s spine, Supreme Leader Snoke’s hologram came into existence in front of them. 

“Master, we failed in retrieving the map to Skywalker,” Ren said, his mechanical voice hiding any emotion.

“It is on its way to the resistance as we speak,” Snoke’s voice was both booming and gritty at the same time, wafting over them. 

Hux simply kept his eyes on Snoke, making no comment. He would not offer ideas or suggestions unless pressed. If master Skywalker could be reached in time, the resistance would surely rally around him. Perhaps even the republic could be more easily swayed to their cause. 

“General,” Snoke broke through his train of thought.

“Yes, supreme leader?”

“How fare the weapon, is it ready for use?” Ghoulish eyes looked down at him expectantly and Hux felt downright unclean standing in just the creature’s holo-presence. 

“If we were to fire it now, Supreme Leader, the risk of misfire or accident would be great. It has yet to be properly calibrated, and has barely gone through simulations,” Hux said with no apology in his voice, his own reluctance against Starkiller aside, super weapons were not playthings and took time to perfect. 

“General!” Snoke rose to his feet, his head just short of going through the vaulting ceiling, towering even more above them. Hux let the tiniest of distaste show itself in form of a twitch on his face. “I do not want excuses! Our plans must change now that the droid is practically in the hands of the resistance. They must not be allowed to reach Skywalker. Test your weapon on the republic, General.” He took a seat once more. 

“Supreme leader-“

“Without the republic’s backing, they will be weakened and scramble in the chaos. Perhaps it will grant us enough time to get to Skywalker before them and snuff out the jedi once and for all. Go, and make preparations.” There was no room for argument, there rarely was. But Snoke’s tone threatened bodily harm if Hux did not comply quickly.

“As you say, supreme leader.” Hux bowed and turned on his heel, letting his face fall from disinterested neutrality to that of worry as he strode away. 

“There has been awakening, have you felt it?” he heard Snoke’s voice directed at his apprentice, and felt his shoulders tense. 

“Yes,” Kylo confirmed.

“Something is coming, or something is already here. Perhaps both, in any case you need to prepare yourself. The challenge that lies ahead will prove difficult, even for you. Master of the knights of Ren.” The doors closed behind Hux as he came back out into the light. He did not have time to dwell on what Snoke had sensed or what he had in store for his apprentice right now. The republic was in grave danger, and they most likely wasn’t even aware of just how acute the danger was. 

“General, we got a message a merc band found the droid but lost them. They left in what is now confirmed to be the Millennium Falcon and it was just spotted on Takodana. Should I notify Lord Ren?” Unamo’s voice came over his personal comms through the urgent channel allowing her to speak without Hux accepting the message. 

“Yes. And send the message that the Starkiller is to be prepped for its first test firing.” Hux swallowed the cold dread that had settled as a lump in his throat.

“At once sir, the target?”

“Home of the republic, the Hosnian system.”

*

He didn’t know if Ren was still planet side, but Hux couldn’t risk waiting for much longer before he sent a distress message to his contact. He had no idea if his sabotage would be enough, it would certainly not stop all of the Starkiller’s fire. He opened himself to the force and had near all breath knocked out of him as he was met with what felt like a shining star connecting with the force properly for the first time. It was almost as if the very force shone a bit brighter, and in its deepest trenches voices whispered.

_“Rey…”_

He did not have time to ponder on however, he had an important task to do. He pushed the revelation away in favor of reaching out with his distress. 

_“General, the Starkiller has been ordered to fire. I cannot stop it, and I feel my position and time with the First Order is coming to a halt. This place must be destroyed, highest priority. I will be ready when the resistance to arrive. I’m coming home, General. I’m sorry.”_ He added the last as an afterthought, and sadness washed over him of the thought that that was what Ben Solo had become to him. An afterthought. He would have to dwell on Ben Solo later, right now he had to steel himself for the ruckus to come. And likely the end of his career within the First Order. 

Good riddance. 

*

Standing on the great podium of Starkiller base, looking out over a sea of troopers and fighters would likely make any true First Order official feel a swell of pride and fiendish glee. Hux simply stared out over them and didn’t know if he had it in him to wax poetic about the First Order with fingers crossed for a lie within his mind. 

He couldn’t see faces in the crowd, simply the ever-stoic expression of various trooper helmets. Not having locked himself off to the force again though, he felt them. Some of them were apprehensive, several were anxious. A concerning amount was feeling an almost childlike glee at being able to stick it to the republic. He felt the officers behind him, staring at his back. No apprehension to be felt there, only steely resolve, pride, self-righteousness. Hux drew up his shoulders and turned his attention back towards the crowd, clearing his voice.

“There are no words to describe just what you are trying to achieve here,” he began, and felt confusion spill from both behind him but also the crowd. “This massive, and powerful machine that you have built, will today be tested against the republic.” May the force be with them. 

“They will certainly no longer ignore or look down upon you, you will rise as the empire of old and stand against an ignorant republic and even more ignorant senate.” That much was true, for Hux trusted the resistance General had long since warned them multiple times over. And yet the republic had done nothing to quell the First Order. They had done the same as the old republic, ignored the Unknown Regions and only focusing on the core systems. This would see the First Order rise as more than a fanatic militia. Hux could only hope they would also fall just as the old empire had done, hopefully before it could truly ascend as an empire. 

“Fire!” There was no more he could, or wanted to say, without giving himself away too blatantly as a traitor who really hoped all that would come out of the Starkiller was smoke. 

Hux had no such luck today, as the weapon roared to life, bathing them all in an ominous red glow before the massive ray was let loose on the galaxy. He had failed them all. The General stared at the massive red beam, feeling tears prickle his eyes in a way they hadn’t done in years. He had no way of knowing if his sabotage had paid off, not until the reports came along. There were no announcements over radio though, so Hux turned on his heel and marched between his officers. Many of them had bewildered looks as he passed, probably remembering his downright disinterested speech. He made his way to base control.

“How did we do?” He barked as he entered, making the officers and technicians jump. Many eyes were wide with worry which Hux found a good sign.

“Sir, we managed to hit the republican fleet. The moon just shy of Hosnian Prime which houses a large part of their military was destroyed efficiently!” Hux felt his stomach sink.

“And what of Hosnian Prime?” that had been the main goal.

“It… sir, the fire ray splintered shortly after we fired and not in the way it was supposed to. Some of the beams were off course and failed to hit their planetary targets. Some destroyed or partially destroyed tactical targets like radio and comms stations,” the officer rambled on to him, but Hux was only half listening. 

Most of the system had survived the firing. They had taken losses, most notably their military. They would be weak to all manner of attacks now, but the planets were intact. Countless lives had been saved. 

“It looked fine before firing, General, we are working to find out what happened-“

“That will be all, thank you. We still managed to hit the republic where it hurts.” Hux dismissed the man and walked over to one of the windows, looking down at the plaza he had just given a speech to. The troopers were celebrating. They would surely be disappointed once the news got out that the republic with its senate was still alive and well. 

That was more than could be said for Hux’s immediate future as he felt a slimy, dark force prodding at his own being. He had remained open to the force for too long. Snoke knew there was a force sensitive traitor amongst the people on Starkiller base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters won't be posted this regularly, but since I was so blown away that this fic garnerd some interest I wanted to post the next chapter now. Normally i plan to keep it to once a week, around thursday. 
> 
> Story Notes:  
> Construction on the Starkiller began roughly about a decade after the fall of the empire (please correct me here the sources are shakey), but before this the empire had a big mining operation on Ilum to mine it for Kyber, so many of the imperial structures were already there, and would later become the massive weapon we see in TFA.


	3. Chapter 3

He didn’t really get enough time to prepare. Starkiller base became alight with activity after the misfiring of the system-destroying ray that hadn’t managed to destroy a system after all. Ren also returned from his mission, not bringing the droid, but the girl that had joined FN-2187 on Jakku. Ren apparently believed he could extract the map from her very thoughts, and knowing Ren’s aptitude to forcing his way into the unprepared mind, he would likely succeed. 

Hux had made his decision to abandon the ruse and was headed to his quarters to retrieve his lightsabers, when he instead was summoned to Snoke’s audience chambers. The summons came with two special forces troopers, and even though he could take them down easily he couldn’t risk the alarm being rung on him just yet. So instead, he steeled himself and gave an annoyed reply that he very well knew where the audience chamber was and did not need an escort. It gave him hope that the troopers backed off, it spoke of a loyalty to Hux first and the Supreme Leader after. And why wouldn’t they? Hux was tangible, present and a productive cog in the First Order machinery. Whereas Snoke was like a ghost that few ever got to see. Troopers especially had little to no chance to ever come face to face with the illusive leader of the First Order. 

Without the escort, no one paid any more mind than normal. They stopped to give a short salute or stand at attention. His expression had to be stormy. But it wouldn’t have to last forever, if he could only keep up the charade for a little while longer…He took a deep breath as he entered the audience chamber, keeping his startle under wraps at seeing the ghoul already present at the top of the podium. 

“Your glorious weapon failed spectacularly, General,” Snoke ground out the moment the door slid shut behind Hux, locking him in with the darkness. 

“It was not yet ready, Supreme Leader. I take full responsibility and will have the men work double time to rectify this as soon as possible. We did take out a large portion of the republic’s military, the resistance will not gain the fire support it sorely needs,” he tried not to speak too quickly as to not give in to the nerves that was steadily building within him. 

“I do hold you fully accountable General, you have disappointed me greatly. Not only did you fail me with Starkiller, there is a traitor in your midst. Right under your very nose General,” Snoke said as he leant forward on his throne, putting Hux under further scrutiny.

“A traitor? Absolutely not, Supreme Leader I must protest,” Hux replied steadily.

“You question my methods, General?” Snoke’s tone was dangerous, he ruled through fear and brutality. Hux was tiring of it quickly.

“Should not your precious apprentice have been able to find and eliminate such a traitor, he has to be good for something other than destroying-“ he was cut off as he felt his throat constricting. Invisible hands squeezed his neck, forcing him to start gasping for air that was nowhere near enough. 

“That is quiet enough out of you, General,” the ghoul’s voice was icy as he restricted Hux’s air.  
Hux could throw off the force lock and get out of the hold, but he would be as good as dead. Quicker than this, or more likely he’d be captured and tortured till he spilled everything or broke. Hux would never spill. He clutched at his own throat, trying to fight off the invisible and simply finding his own tensing muscles. 

“You have been obstinate for long enough, you had such ambition and drive, but now I fear you have become disillusioned General. I have no used for disillusioned generals,” Snoke sneered. 

_“Ben…”_ Hux’s vision was darkening, he had to act now or he would not be able to take down his own force lock.   
Behind him the doors to the audience chamber hissed open and heavy footfalls followed. 

“Supreme Leader!” The voice was almost unfamiliar, but Hux had no time to ponder as he was released rather suddenly and fell to his knees, gasping and coughing, scrambling backwards and away from the Supreme Leader’s image. He just barely caught Ren’s figure striding past him and up to towards the image. “The girl, she has the force. She resisted my attempts at draining her mind of the map to Skywalker,” Ren sounded genuinely upset, and now Hux realized why the voice wasn’t familiar. Ren was without his mask. 

Years ago Hux would have jumped at the chance of seeing Ren without his mask, seeing Ben’s face again. But now his mind was on survival, he could not squander this opportunity. He scrambled to get his feet under him and hurry out of the dark chamber. Praying to whatever was listening that his display had been pathetic enough for Snoke deeming he could kill him another day. He paid no attention to the ghoul’s reply as he made for the still open doors. Being out in the artificial light of the corridor only brought a modicum of relief, and he wasted no time getting to his own rooms. It was time for the charades to be dropped. 

The moment he stepped into his rooms he broke his personal comms against the wall, they could track him through it. He undressed, ridding himself of the stiff First Order uniform. Standing bare in the middle of his floor, he let the locks fall away. He gave a breath of relief as he felt the force flow through him at full capacity once again. He had no doubt both Snoke and Ren would catch onto his presence soon enough, he had no time to waste. Opening his wardrobe, he dug into the very back where an inconspicuous crate was hid in plain sight. 

Opening the code lock revealed softer clothing in dark grey and blue hues, with a scattering of brown leather. He had gotten this outfit for himself when he had a rare moment of leave nearing two years ago now. Before the Starkiller project had intensified. The clothes were inspired by traditional jedi garb went on easy, his hands still remembering how to wrap everything correctly into place. 

It was just clothing, but it felt like a rebirth. Ending it all by donning his sleeveless grey robe, he felt like he stood taller than he ever had as General Hux.   
At the bottom of the crate lay a worn leather pouch, closed by mere strings. Hux picked it up gently before moving over to his bed, slowly emptying the contents of the pouch onto the dark sheets. Holding his hands out over it he felt the familiar tingle of the force build from within him and surging out through his fingers. The pieces lifted into the air and circled the green kyber crystal keeping still in the air. The saber reassembled itself neatly around the crystal before landing into Hux’s palm. His other hand reached back behind him towards the closet, he sensed everything within his rooms. Calling forth for his new saber to awaken, it reacted to his summons and flew into his open hand. Igniting both sabers for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Hux gave himself a moment to marvel at the green and purple glows that now illuminated him. 

Switching off the sabers he moved his gaze back to the doors to his rooms. He hooked the sabers onto his belt before pulling up his hood, shrouding his face in shadow. His first objective was to find and aid the girl Ren had taken, and he had a feeling her presence would not be unfamiliar. 

There was more than one cellblock on Starkiller base, and Hux had no time to search through all of them. He had actively shoved Snoke’s presence away twice already, a thrill going through him as Snoke recoiled after the second attempt. This did not give him much time and space to maneuver though. He reasoned Ren would have been in a hurry to get through the girl’s mind, and so went to the cellblock closest to the hangar Ren’s ship was normally assigned to. As he got closer, he could feel her. Her presence had dimmed some since he felt her first fully connect with the force. That had felt like a star coming to life. It was still unmistakable though. 

_“Rey…”_ The whisper went through his mind as he found her cell guarded by a single trooper on the outside. He sent the trooper away with a simple suggestion before opening the door with his master code. 

Inside was another stormtrooper, and the girl. Her eyes zeroed in on him immediately, narrowing as her face steeled itself as if readying for Hux to attack and she was not at all willing to admit defeat. No wonder this girl had Ren in a hissy fit, her entire being screamed of impertinence. 

“Who are you?” The trooper barked, directing his blaster at Hux immediately. Hux saw confusion enter Rey’s eyes as they moved towards the trooper. 

“You don’t need to know who I am,” Hux said gently, moving his hand in a gentle wave by his hip. 

“I don’t need to know who you are,” the trooper replied, voice sounding a little dazed as his grip on his blaster slackened some. 

“You can leave now, and you should probably tell your friends to be ready to evacuate because you have a bad feeling,” Hux said as he raised his hand and gave a gentle wave in front of FN-1824.

“I’ll leave now, and tell my friends to be ready to evacuate,” the trooper mumbled as he began shuffling towards the door. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he continued as he left them.   
Hux waved his hand towards Rey and the bindings keeping her locked into the chair sprang open, releasing her. 

“Who are you, and don’t do that wavy thing on me,” she demanded as she rubbed her wrists.

“You resisted Kylo Ren, Rey, I doubt I could coerce you as easily as I do most stormtroopers,” Hux replied with humor. 

“You know my name, how?”

“I am an ally to you Rey, a jedi who has been dormant for far too long. I know your name through the force, as you could know mine.” He held out his hand towards her. She eyed him warily for a moment before putting her hand in his. She closed her eyes without prompting and he gently offered up memories of his training under Luke Skywalker. He could feel her reading them, it was almost remarkable at how quickly she took to it, despite having no training as far as Hux could tell.

“Armitage,” she spoke his name quietly, it felt odd to hear his first name after being “General Hux” or just “General” for so long. “You knew Skywalker.”

“He was, or is, my master. You’ve seen him before?”

“In a vision, on Takodana…”

“I’d love to hear all about it, but we should get a move on. No doubt Ren will be back here soon to check on you now that he likely knows about my presence on the base.” Rey gave a quick nod and followed him out. 

They moved quietly through the corridors, Hux putting out feelers to sense when troopers, officers or other personnel came their way. They were making their way towards one of the hangars when Hux stopped abruptly, Rey just barely avoiding crashing into his back. 

“Is it Ren?” she whispered quickly.

“No its… huh, FN-2187, what the kriff is he doing back?”

“FN-who?” 

“The stormtrooper who deserted the order and joined up with you from what I heard.” Hux turned to give her a small smile.

“Finn, you’re talking about Finn! What’s he doing here?”

“Let’s find out.”

Finn’s presence turned out to be behind a door that led to a minor control room, mainly meant for use in case of emergencies. Either he had stolen access codes, or someone had helped him. Hux used his own access codes, it would certainly take some time to change all of the back up access codes he had made for himself over the years. They were met by a peculiar scene. A wookie growled at them and leveled a bowcaster directly at Hux, Hux however arched a brow at seeing none other than Captain Phasma held at gunpoint by the console by none other than FN-2187. 

“Chewbacca!” Rey exclaimed a little louder than what Hux was comfortable with. The wookie lowered his bowcaster immediately as FN-2187, or Finn Hux supposed, stared slack jawed at them. 

“Finn, what are you doing here?” Rey asked incredulously. 

“We came back for you, I couldn’t leave you like that Rey.” Finn lowered his own blaster and hurried over, meeting Rey in a hug.   
Phasma however had her gaze firmly fixed on Hux, he should have known she would recognize him even with half his face concealed. 

“General,” she said, and Hux could barely make out a hint of breathlessness. The Captain could likely not believe what she was seeing. 

“Captain,” Hux replied easily and saw no point in keeping his hood up and lowered it to meet Phasma’s gaze fully. 

“Kriff! Rey that’s general Hux!” Finn jumped away like Hux’s very presence burned him. 

“Armitage.” Hux hadn’t had the time to notice Han standing off to the side, he looked over now though and felt the same punch he had after he had seen him before going undercover. Ben had just been lost to them, and Han Solo carried the same amount of grief and wariness as he had back then. 

“Han, it’s been a while,” Hux nodded. 

“Been a while? You karking- how the hell did you become The General Hux? Do you have any idea how many mercs thought getting me to you in chains would impress them?” Han was grinning now though and approaching him, so Hux responded in kind and met the man halfway letting himself be drawn into a firm hug.

“What is happening,” Finn whispered in the background. 

“It’s good to see you, kid. I hope you’re ready to get outta this cold hellhole.” Han pushed out of the hug, keeping his hands on Hux’s shoulder.

“Long overdue I believe, are you disabling the shields? Does this mean you have a plan for destroying this abomination?”

“When do I ever do anything without a plan?” Han let him go, having the indecency to look affronted. 

“According to master Skywalker and his sister, that would be a solid nine out of ten times,” Hux drawled as he moved over to the console where Phasma was still seated, stock still. 

“He helped me Finn, and he’s obviously not just the Hux you know.” He heard Rey whisper to Finn, a discussion had likely gone on as he reunited with Han.   
Phasma followed him with her gaze as he let his fingers dance over the console, accessing the shield-framework and beginning its disabling. 

“For what it is worth Phasma, I did count you as a friend and I am sorry I could not be truthful to you. I understand fully if you intend to put a blaster shot between my eyes one day,” Hux said with a wry smile as he watched the shields go down completely around the planet. 

“We have to deal with her,” Finn piped up as Hux straightened, pulling up his hood again. 

“I’d prefer it if she didn’t come to harm actually. If your plan works Starkiller will be no more, I suggest you start evacuation Captain Phasma. You know I will not allow anything but success for my missions,” he leveled her with a look, though there was no attempt at force coercion. 

“Your last order as general?” Phasma bit out.

“My rank died when the supreme leader tried to off me via strangulation, take it as a friend’s last suggestion made in the hopes that you will live to see another day.”  
They stared at one another for several moments, before Phasma gave the tiniest of acknowledgements. Hux nodded in turn before turning back towards the doors, they broke the door controls as to hinder Phasma to pursue them immediately should she in fact choose to not heed Hux’s warning at all. 

“What now?”

“We need to crack open the blast doors,” Han said quickly before Finn could open his mouth and begin what looked like more questions fueled by confusion and fear of what he had always know Hux as. 

“The thermal oscillator, of course. Pretty brilliant I must say, and I am guessing the weapon is already being recharged?”

“After it did a number on the Hosnian system, yes,” Finn said darkly. 

“The Hosnian system would not exist at all anymore had I not sabotaged what I could when the opportunity presented itself to me. You cannot even begin to grasp the role I have played for several sides in this and the story is far too long to recount here. We need to focus on our objective, so seat your suspicions for now and I’ll answer questions later,” Hux huffed. Rey gave an annoyed look at him at the slight dressing down of her friend. Thankfully they all realized time really was of the essence. 

“I’m sure it’s a hell of a story, kid. But you are right, let’s get this done and go home. Stories can come later,” Han agreed. Though Hux had no doubt the man had burning questions himself. Particularly about Hux initial promise when he had left, no doubt. 

Hux wouldn’t mind if that particular question could wait until his own death bed. He only accepted success in his missions, he’d told Phasma.   
It made Kylo Ren even more of a bitter pill to swallow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes:  
> FN-1824 is of course the Sotrm Trooper that was played by Daniel Craig (James Bond). I was sorely tempted to call him JB-700 alas he's been given a FN-number.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of my birthday i wanted to post one more chapter than usual this week. Then discovered my birthday (23. jan) fall on my usualy posting schedule (thursdays). SO have chapter 4 two days early, and ch. 5 will be up on thursday.

“The oscillator will be under lockdown by now, even if it appears as if Phasma is not actively pursuing us I have no doubt she has alerted control,” Hux said as they moved down quiet hallways.

“Won’t she get them to bring the shields back up?” Rey furrowed her brows.

“Oh, they can certainly try, they won’t crack my override that easily. Far easier to lock down important areas of the base. I’d have to request an emergency key, and they’d have my positioned pinged. I have no doubt there are select individuals on the lookout for me,” Hux sighed.

“Only select individuals? Shouldn’t the entire base be scrambling to find you if you really are a traitor?” Finn asked, genuine curiosity in his voice by now, and not just thinly veiled accusations.

“I was General Hux of the First Order, youngest in the Order’s history to make General and personally entrusted the Starkiller-project by Snoke. Finding out I turned my back on the order will shake morale, perhaps even inspire mutiny of varying degree and size. My treason will be kept quiet for as long as possible, or more likely covered up.”

“Damn, if we had more time we should plaster an announcement on every channel the First Order has,” Han chuckled lightly. 

“If we survive this I’ll put it on my to-do list,” Hux replied deadpan. 

“Well, any ideas how to get to the oscillator then? Chewie and me here would really like to relieve ourselves of some explosives.” Han turned and faced them all.

“If I could find a conventional junction, I could probably open a door for you. If the system are like that of star destroyers?” Rey looked at Hux who nodded, encouraging her to continue. “I’ve worked on quite a few of those, back on Jakku,” she said confidently, her chin held high. 

“I know the location of such a junction not too far from here, if we can find a speeder we’d reach it in record time,” Finn added on, stepping up so he was shoulder to shoulder with Rey.

“I’ll tag along, if only to keep moving so neither Ren nor Snoke can hone in on my presence. I’m still re-tuning myself with the force, it’s been kept apart from me for a long time,” Hux said and Han nodded, having worked with force users before, while Rey and Finn both blinked. 

“Hurry it up then, Chewie and I will get closer to the oscillator.” Han and Chewbacca left them there.

“Shall we?” Hux nodded towards a hallway that would lead them towards a lift that went topside. If he felt beyond relief at avoiding the inevitable questioning that would have happened if he was left alone with Han and Chewbacca, he did not show it. 

Finding and commandeering a snowspeeder was simple enough, and when Hux made no move towards the steering Finn stepped up. 

“I suggest letting Rey drive this thing,” Hux interrupted and quickly had two pair of questioning eyes on him. “You were never in the vehicle or transport programs, Finn. And I saw some of the footage from your escape from Jakku. You are however an excellent shot and would be a great asset if we are discovered,” Hux explained, all too easy to fall back on tactics and battle reasoning. Finn accepted this though with a firm nod. Rey went to the controls and had them on the way without any delay. 

It did not take long before they were discovered, they did stick out rather badly as they flew over the white landscape of what used to be Illum’s white fields. The stormtrooper that spotted them wasted no time in reporting them, and soon they had several speeders on their tail. Finn hopped up, blaster at the ready and fired off several shots against the front runner. He managed to take out some of the shooters, but the driver was still on them. Hux rose to his full height next to Finn. He ignited his green saber and felt the shock from the troopers rush over him. 

With his saber at the ready, he raised his free hand towards one of the speeders. Willing the force to heed his command, he forced the speeder to dive into the snow blowing out its engine as it went full speed against solid ground. The maneuver shook the other troopers out of their shocked state and they opened fire again. Parrying blaster shots came as natural as breathing, despite the lack of training going beyond wooden practice swords in the far too small space of his former rooms. He delighted in finding it just as simple to redirect blaster fire in the direction he wished for, as it had been when he had been but a youngling under master Skywalker’s watchful eye. Two returned shots in quick order, and support fire from Finn, took a second speeder out of commission. This was proving to be good practice on slightly rusted skills.

Hux extended his hand again, now against the last speeder pursuing them. He narrowed his eyes and channeled the frustration the years under the First Order had brought him. The anger at failing Ben solo, and the resolution to never join Kylo Ren despite of it. The force came alive around his fingers, and shot out as visible energy. The force lightning hit the speeder directly in a precise line, troopers scrambling to jump of the craft before it went up in smoke. 

“Holy shit!” Finn was staring at the wrecked speeders behind them as Hux lowered his hand. Master Skywalker had been more than a little concerned when he had first found out Hux had learned this particular ability. Hux forced his mind from those memories now though, he had no time to dwell at the moment.  
Free of pursuers Rey was free to speed ahead at Finn’s directions, and almost jumped out of the speeder before it came to a complete halt once they reached the junction. Rey had spoken truly when she had claimed she knew her way around star destroyer tech. She made short work of the junction, hot wiring cables to open the doors Solo and Chewbacca would need to reach the oscillator. 

“Let’s get back to them,” Hux said as he continued to scout their surroundings for more troopers sent to stop them.  
The oscillator was closer than the distance they had first travelled on the snowspeeder. Rey was an excellent pilot, proving Hux’s hunch correct. She never hesitated when Finn belted out directions in quick succession. Closing in on the blast doors to the oscillator though, Hux felt a darkness coming closer. It did not move actively towards them, they were the ones moving towards it. Kylo Ren, no doubt. Hux frowned and wasted no time following Rey towards one of the oscillator’s service entrances.

The scene that met them was that of a dramatic holodrama. On a narrow walkway spanning the width of the oscillator tunnel stood none other than Kylo Ren, currently frozen as his father walked to him. Steps determined and steady. 

“Take off that mask, you don’t need it,” Han’s voice held no inquiry. 

“What do you think you’ll see if I do?” Ren’s modified voice sounded almost disinterested. 

“The face of my son,” Han’s words did not waver. Beside him he heard both Rey and Finn draw surprised breaths, eyes fixated on the scene bellow. 

Hux was not prepared for Kylo Ren actually complying with Han Solo’s demand. He unclasped the lock mechanism and pulled the helmet off. There was no monster behind the mask, like Hux sometimes had seen in his nightmares. No ghoulish eyes with a sith’s yellow glare. It was Ben Solo, older, but still the same person Hux had trained with under master Skywalker. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe, it was as if he hadn’t truly known Ben was there all along. Seeing him like this made guilt churn within him, he hadn’t done enough. He should have tried harder.

“Your son is dead, he was weak and foolish like his father. So I destroyed him,” Ben’s voice was cold. But Hux recognized it. The same voice, he had the same voice as he had had just a short year before he had turned on them. He had cherished the sound of that voice once, loved to hear it break out into infectious laughter. There was no mirth or warmth in it now though. It was the same and still wholly different. 

“That’s what Snoke wants you to believe, but it’s not true.” Han stepped closer to Kylo Ren, his son. “My son is alive,” Han said firmly.

“No, the supreme leader is wise,” it was said with conviction and it always made Hux’s gut clench.

“Snoke is using you for your power, when he gets what he wants he will crush you,” Han was bordering on pleading now as he stopped just an armlength away form his wayward son. “You know it’s true.”

“It’s too late,” his voice was tiny now, with a hint of fear and it made Hux focus on Kylo…no, Ben, again. He reached out with his senses, closing his eyes as he searched for hope of the light within him.

“No it’s not, leave here with me. Come home, we miss you.” Han inspired doubt within Ben and Hux didn’t dare to hope, conflict raged within Ben to the point of making Hux near dizzy trying to keep up. 

“I am being torn apart,” the cold was gone from Ben’s voice, instead it wavered. “I want to be free of this pain,” he continued. Pain, guilt… it all flowed from Ben in droves, so strongly flashes of memories from an all too distant past bled from him. Hux caught a brief glance of himself, much younger, saber at the ready and tears streaming down an angry face. He felt Ben flinch ever so slightly and the memory was quickly abandoned. 

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it… will you help me?” It was pleading, but something dark was stirring in Ben and it made Hux frowned as he focused.

“Yes, anything.” Han did not hesitate.  
The clank of Ren’s helmet as it hit the walkway echoed through the room, but it did not bring a sense of relief and defeat of the darkness for Hux. Instead it felt like a war drum, heralding pain and anguish.

Time felt as if it stood still as Ben warred with himself, with Kylo. But Ben had been locked away for a long, long time. He was losing.  
Hux’s eyes snapped open and moved back down to the pair down on the walkway. He could see the shift in Ben’s face.

“No!” His scream broke everyone present out of their transfixion, Han’s and Kylo’s head snapping up to him at the same time as Hux jumped from the balcony he stood on with Rey and Finn. The force helping him control the fall as he pulled Han away from his son with the force, back to the beginning of the walkway. Hux landed with a heavy thud in front of Kylo Ren, his own sabers ignited and brought up in defense just as Kylo stepped back igniting his own saber. 

“Armitage! What are you doing!” Han bellowed.

“I know you want your son back Solo, and he’s there but he did not win this time. Did he, Kylo?” Hux ground out, keeping his eyes on Kylo who had no mask to hide his shock as he stared at the hooded Hux bug eyed. 

“Armitage…Hux? What…” Hux could see him struggle to make sense of it all. He wasn’t about to give him time to get back on his feet.

“Do what you came here to do. Win the battle, do the war later!” At least Chewbacca had jumped into action and fired at several of the stormtroopers who had watched the exchange just as transfixed. Hux didn’t give Kylo any more time before he struck, aiming to keep him from interfering. Kylo rose to meet him on pure instinct alone. 

“You died!” his scream was almost accusatory. 

“You failed, you are a piss poor excuse of a force user Ren. You couldn’t even sense a jedi right under your nose,” Hux jumped back gracefully, his hood falling off his head and back onto his shoulders. 

“You cannot be him, Hux has about the same amount of force as a spoon!” Kylo was still scrambling. Good. Hux forced him backwards with swift and agile strikes. 

“I am Armitage Kenobi.” Hux narrowed his eyes as he blocked a half-hearted attempt from Kylo. He pushed with his palm and forced Ren back several paces.

“We need to go Armitage! We’re setting this place to blow!” Han called out to him as he made his way out with Chewie close behind.  
Hux cast a glance up to where Finn and Rey had been, finding the balcony abandoned. He looked back to Ren who had not moved from the spot he was pushed to. Still staring at Hux. 

“I was never gone, and I was never someone other than myself. My father was Brendol Hux, my mother the Kenobi. They’ve both always existed within me, Ben. Unlike your Kylo Ren, a phantom conjured by that ghoul Snoke.” Hux gathered the force at his feet and pushed off, charging his jump with the force and landed safely back up at the balcony. 

“Either exercise him or have the decency to die to it!” Hux sneered before vanishing back out into the vast white expanse of Starkiller base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes:  
> I don't really intend to have Hux be a descendant of Obi-Wan. I just want there to be more Kenobis in the world and the comparison posts on Tumblr were too enticing to be ignored.  
> I therefore largely leave it up to the reader to determine if Hux is just a random Kenobi (and the force is strong in the Kenobi-clan) or an Obi-Wan descendant (Cus of course Obi-Wan was given a female LI at least in Legends)
> 
> On Force Powers:  
> Many people reacted to Rey's insane jumping skills in TROS, Force Jump is an actual force user skill and was also present in the prequels and has starred in many a Star Wars game. In Jedi: Fallen Order augmenting physical skills with the force was shown as something basic most padawans learn and can then improve upon later. Hux is a "force heavy" character in this story as I've pictured him in more of a "mage class" than a "warrior class".


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a year older so have a new chapter!

Hux followed Rey’s presence as it was the brightest out of them. Having to duck for cover once the resistance pilots descended over Starkiller base slowed him down though. And the quaking earth that followed told him the resistance had managed to hit their target. Pushing forward he felt a spike of fear, coming from Rey. He didn’t have time to call out before her presence became an ember instead of her usual flame. Something had to have knocked her out. He clenched his teeth and pushed ever forward, soon enough the sounds of saber battle reached his ears. 

Ren. 

He had to have used tunnels to get ahead of them, likely tracking Rey as Hux had done. He offered a brief thought as to why Ren had chosen to go after Rey instead of Hux, perhaps he sought to take down the untrained first. 

“Armitage!” To his right Han and Chewie appeared, seemingly relieved that he had managed to get away. 

“Go, get the falcon! Rey and Finn have been intercepted by Ren. I’ll help them, but a quick escape would be appreciated!”

“Go, hurry! This place is falling apart already,” Han said in a way of agreement and the continued on their separate ways. In the brief exchange Rey had awoken again and was making the force shift without any real direction or purpose. She had incredible force aptitude, but lacked any form of training. Without training all the force aptitude in the world would be pretty much useless.

Hux went in deeper among the trees and found a wounded Finn first. His back was still smoking from a shallow saber wound. Such a long wound and so close to his spine was still dangerous even if it was shallow. Hux bent a knee besides the former soldier and checked on his vitals. Finn was still breathing, but his pulse was more fluttery than what he’d like. Hux didn’t have the time to administer proper first aid however, so instead hurriedly pushed some healing strands through the force towards his wound. 

Hopefully Finn would be alright on his own in the time Han and Chewie would take to get there. Knowing both the resistance and the First Order liked having local distress beacons on hand, Hux did a cursory check through the man’s pockets. Finding the expected resistance distress beacon on him, Hux activated it and hoped Han would figure out the rest. He then resumed his hunt for Rey and Ren.

Hux spotted them against an opening chasm. Ren had Rey pinned. If she took as much as half a step backwards, she’d plunge into the gaping wounds of the planet. 

“Ren! We’re not done!” Hux yelled and immediately got the phantom’s attention. There was no shock or confusion on Ren’s face any longer. Just anger and darkness.   
Rey wasn’t fool enough to attempt an attack on Ren even if he was not looking at her, he still had his saber towards her. She ducked away and rushed over to Hux, Anakin Skywalker’s old jedi blade still raised. 

“Rey, go back and get Finn. He needs help, Han is on his way.” Hux did not take his eyes of Ren as he turned to face them both properly. 

“I’m not leaving you alone to face this monster!” Rey gave him the briefest of looks.

“I would be honored to fight along side you one day, Rey. But right now, you shouldn’t push your luck further. You are not trained, Ren and I are. Go! Leave it to me, I should have dealt with Ren long ago.” Hux left no room for her to argue. She looked at him for a drawn-out moment before she gave a quick nod and darted back the way Hux had come. 

Hux ignited both of his blades, despite having only trained with wooden training sabers for his dual wielding, he found it came naturally to him. Ren flipped his own saber in a downward position, leaning forward as if ready to pounce. 

“Traitor!” Ren roared as he set upon him. Hux parried and immediately went in for the next strike. 

Neither man allowed the other to push far, where Ren’s strikes were wild and unpredictable. Hux’s parries were quick and precise. They were fairly evenly matched, though Hux suspected that was only due to Ren’s emotional turmoil boiling just under the surface. Hux knew he was rusty after having not trained or used his sabers regularly for years. They both pushed out with the force at the same time, creating a stalemate where the power between them built rapidly. Ren did not expect Hux to drop his other saber to the ground and add the strength of his second palm though, and it sent Ren flying through the trees. 

Hux summoned his saber back to his free palm and disengaged the green saber still in his hand. Despite having been force locked for so long, the force was strong in Hux and even if its flow was a bit wilder than what he would have liked, he could still put it to use. He stalked over to where Ren had scrambled back onto his feet, eyes quickly darting to Hux’s lone saber. 

Ben had known Hux had built upon the more defensive and graceful saberforms to learn the practice of Niman, where force use was heavily incorporated. He wondered if Ren would also know, if Ben remembered. 

“Does Snoke tell you to be as wild and uncontrolled like that? It is doing you no favors,” Hux jabbed at the phantom Knight who in turn growled at him. 

“The dark side offers more power than you could even begin to imagine!”

“That it does, but not if you let it rule you.” Hux raised his free hand up again, he would see if Ben remembered soon enough as the dark wraith held back in a brief moment of confusion. Blue strands of energy shot out from Hux’s fingertips and Ren barely had time to lift his blade to counter the attack. Hux spied that his jaw had slackened some however, his attack had had the intended effect and he surged forward, chasing the waning crackles of energy. The onslaught happened too quick for Ren to parry properly and Hux managed to nick him in the shoulder.

“I faced the dark side and found it lacking,” he twisted around for another attack, meeting Ren in a close block. “You’d do well to see what I did,” he hissed before pushing forward once again. His style now less controlled and more aggressive. He went in for a low attack which Ren hurried to parry, but Hux changed his trajectory last minute and swept upwards instead. It was just a graze, but with a lightsaber as your weapon that could easily be enough. 

Ren fell to the ground with a pained cry as he clutched at his face. Through his fingers Hux could see the angry red burn from his blade. A traitorous voice in his mind whispered it was better this way, now that Ren’s face finally reflected the inside. He didn’t want to explore that any further, without further ado he disengaged his blade and turned back. Leaving Ren in the snow. 

He didn’t get very far before the lights of the falcon hovered above him, the landing pad opening to reveal Rey and Chewie. He mustered his strength for another force jump and managed to get up to the pad. He would have fallen right back off if Chewie hadn’t caught him however, as he felt how his strength finally left him. It was a wonder he had managed to keep it up for so long really. He didn’t remember much from that point. He heard Han yelling from the cockpit, asking if he was alright or not. But then his eyes slipped shut due to exhaustion and the world turned blessedly silent as they left the imploding Starkiller behind. 

*

Hux awoke just before they reached the resistance base on D’Qar, someone had placed him on of the bunks in one of the crew rooms aboard. He sat up with a low groan, he imagined this was what half dead felt like. His mouth was dry and rough like sandpaper and his entire body felt both wrong and aching all over. It’d take some time before he would readjust properly, it probably didn’t help that he had royally over done right out of force lock. His sabers were placed on a tiny table in the corner, and he managed to stand and walk over if a bit shakily. 

He picked up his old saber, feeling its comfortable weight in his palm before clipping it to his belt. His new saber was lighter and yet carried more weight in other areas as it felt like it was connected to him on a deeper level. Hux would not forego either saber though, dual wielding interested him. And hopefully he would have all the time in the world to practice properly now. He would even have a sparring partner. For he imagined Rey wasn’t the girl to stand idly by after discovering she had the ability to tap into mystic powers of the universe. 

He opened the door to find Han there, hand almost touching the door’s control panel.

“Ah, you’re up. Good we’re almost back with the resistance. Bet it’s going to be a shock for them huh, some of them has to know your face as that of General Hux.” The smuggler smirked, but there was no mirth in his eyes.

“Han… I’m sorry… I failed-“

“None of that, Armitage. I know you tried, and I am sure you had your reasons for pulling me away.” Han fixed his gaze on his.

“He was going to kill you, Ren was overpowering Ben.” Hux did not flinch.

“But Ben is still there?” the hope in Han’s voice fed the uncomfortable tendrils already tingly over Hux’s spine. 

“He is, but Ren is also more determined than ever to go back to Snoke and complete his training.”

“It doesn’t matter, Armitage. We have you back, safe and sound. You and Rey will go to Luke. We’ll figure all this out together. We will get Ben back.” Han placed his warm hand on Hux’s shoulder, his confidence even breaking through Hux’s cynicism for the briefest of moments. 

“We will certainly try, I do strive to only accept success.”

“Kriff kid, you sound like Leia,” Han chuckled and squeezed his shoulder before letting go. 

“Well I have been a general for some years.” Hux let a smile creep onto his lips.

“Good, we’ll need more like her.” Han winked before going back to the cockpit. Hux followed him into the communal area where Rey sat next to a haggard, but awake Finn. 

“How are you both doing?” He sat down gingerly next to Rey.

“Finn woke a little while after we left Starkiller. Han had decent enough first aid equipment, and you stabilized him before finding me?” both Rey and Finn looked to him for confirmation.

“I did, though I regret I couldn’t help you more than I did Finn. Force Healing is a skill I am still a novice in, and I didn’t have much energy to spare,” he said in way of an apology,

“You collapsed after you came aboard, you did more than enough. Thank you.” Finn gave a slight nod. 

“Force heal? Did you start learning recently?” Rey pushed her question eagerly.

“Ah, no. I haven’t been able to be much in contact with the force while I was undercover. The risk of Snoke or Kylo Ren discovering me was too great, so I hid. I began learning force heal under master Skywalker, mainly to appease him for another skill I had acquired,” Hux said wryly, remembering Luke’s thunderous expression once he had seen Hux cast lightning.

“A skill he did not approve of?”

“Mm, some force powers feed of the dark side and both consume and feed dangerous emotions such as passion, anger, and hate. The lightning I can cast is such a dark skill, though in its mildest forms.”

“And are you? Dark side I mean?” Finn eyed him curiously, a hint of the old suspicion back in his eyes.

“I stumbled a bit in my convictions, especially after my mother informed me of my true parentage. An imperial officer and grand unfeeling asshole to boot. I was young and foolish, and felt undeserving of my jedi ancestry. The dark side brings only more violence and pain however, it was more than enough of a deterrent to me. That and my mother was furious I would even think to take after my father,” Hux chuckled at the memory. “If the jedi hadn’t been so vary of all forms of love, including a mother’s love, there wouldn’t have been so many siths back in the day I am sure.” He shook his head. “That, or my mother was simply terrifying when mad.”

“Was?” Rey’s eyes softened.

“She passed while I was rising through the ranks of the first order. I got to say my goodbyes though, in my own way.” Hux rose to his feet again. “Find who you would like to be, to yourself and those you care about. And hold onto that image and accept no short cuts, you’ll be fine.” Hux gave Rey a small smile before wandering over to the cockpit to watch their descent to the resistance base. 

The base was a flurry of activity as they landed. Chewie went out first, supporting a hobbling Finn that was still in need of medical attention after taking a saber to the back. Han and Rey followed, and were greeted by none other than General Leia Organa that pulled Han into a crushing hug before taking one look at Rey and hugging her as well. No doubt she could feel how her presence shimmered oh so familiarly through the force. 

_“General…”_ Hux knew it was probably cowardly to not raise his voice properly, but he did not want the attention of the base on him as he stood on the   
landing pad. Leia’s eyes lifted to him and if he thought it would take her a moment to adjust to seeing General Hux stand there by the millennium Falcon, he should have known better. Recognition and realization flashed in her eyes and she walked over as he finished walking of the ramp. He expected her to question him why Ben wasn’t with them. That had been Hux first and firmest promise to her before he had left. Instead she took him into her arms and held him tight. 

“I am so glad you could return to us in one piece, Armitage,” She said softly into his ear and Hux found his own arms wrapping around her holding her tight as if she was his lifeline. 

“I failed you, general I am so sorry.” Fresh tears spilled from his eyes as he whispered frantically. Leia pushed away from him and held him away from her so she could study him properly. 

“We haven’t given up yet. The important thing here is that you are home, Armitage,” She said firmly.

“I’m home.” He gave her a watery smile. 

If the resistance was shocked that their famous general was hugging the infamous general Hux, they did a good job hiding it for the most part. That or their spirits had all just left them. It appeared they took it all in stride though, as Leia introduced him as a long-time undercover agent and important ally to the resistance. 

“Almost went a bit overboard, I’d say.” He thought he could hear Poe Dameron somewhere in the masses. He’d make sure Dameron realized who was behind his timely escape from the finalizer in due time.   
Everything shifter however as the map to Master Skywalker was revealed. Hidden on an ancient planet Hux remembered reading connotations about in dusty tomes as a boy. Ahch-To, the very birthplace of the Jedi order. It did not come as much of a surprise that his master had found the place, and likely exiled himself to it.   
Leia approached him with Rey in tow.

“Armitage, you and Rey must go to my brother. If nothing else to help Rey come into her force powers, and for you to continue your own training. I have a feeling we will need it in the time to come.”

“Should we not try and convince Master Skywalker to come back, join the resistance?” Rey looked between them as Leia frowned. 

“He exiled himself after I left, didn’t he?” Hux lent back against some crates as he watched the General. Leia sighed heavily.

“He did, he blamed himself for all that had happened. He worried for you, and for Ben.” Leia looked back over to the map. “Nothing would bring me greater joy than to reunite with my brother again. And while I have no doubt it would ease his heart to see you healthy and whole Armitage, we both know Luke can be stubborn.”

“Skywalker family trait,” Hux said as an explanation to Rey which made Leia chuckle. 

“I suppose so, you should not tarry though. I’ve no doubt the First Order will be looking to retaliate soon for the destruction of Starkiller base, and apparently, the murder of their formidable General Hux?”

“I’m dead? Hm, well… I think I will hold onto Hux for the time being. After Brendol Hux kicked the bucket, having the only Hux in existence as part of the resistance is sure to make the old man roll over in his grave,” Hux snorted. Leia raised a brow at him but did not question him. 

After saying their goodbyes to Han, and Finn who first insisted he come with but was eventually dissuaded by Rey who promised they would meet again. Hux and Rey boarded the Millennium Falcon anew together with Chewie who would accompany them together with the newly awoken droid R2-D2. Han had also wanted to go, but Leia had already convinced him that Han going could cause more harm than good. It would remind Luke too much of Ben, Leia had said, and thus Han conceded. 

Quite the crowd of resistance members where there to see them off as the Falcon became air born. Rey had the co-pilot seat, being way better suited to the role than Hux and he freely admitted it. Flying wasn’t something he really enjoyed. 

“To Ahch-To.” Rey craned her neck to look at him with a smile.

“To Ahch-To,” Hux agreed. 

And they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes the events of The Force Awakens but the story continues in (and most likely beyond) the other movies.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Last Jedi Arc begins

Ahch-To turned out to be a planet mostly covered by water, with emerald green islands spreading out over the vast ocean. Chewie landed the Falcon delicately on the island R2-D2’s coordinates indicated, and Rey practically bounced out of the ship in her excitement.

“You go on ahead, Rey. I need a minute,” Hux swallowed as he followed at a much more somber pace. She nodded and started on trekking up the first hill.

Luke had been so broken after what happened with Ben, dejected to the point that it was impressive the man was standing at all. He had offered little protest when Hux made a demand for his mission, not because he thought it was a good idea. Hux was sure Luke would have smacked him for even suggesting it had he been whole and himself when it was put forward. Luke hadn’t protested because he felt nothing besides his shame and grief over Ben. Much of the same grief and shame Hux felt himself over Ben, thus he was not too eager to see his master just yet. It was childish and cowardly to put it off, but he let himself have it. If nothing else, it was a rest from the immense upheaval he had already gone through during the past days. 

Chewie gave him an impatient sound, and even though Hux’s Shyriiwook was beyond rusty, he got the gist of it. 

“I am not hiding and/or stalling,” Hux huffed out and Chewbacca tilted his head at him. 

“I haven’t practiced Shyriiwook since Ben taught me,” He said and looked up at the slope. Giving a great sigh he started his ascent up the hill.   
He had begun on the second hill when he heard Rey’s voice at the crest.

“Hello? Master Skywalker!”

Hux furrowed his brow and went up, finding Rey in front of a stone hut with a closed door. Was Luke hiding? Was he hiding because he felt his presence? The very thought sent an unpleasant jolt down Hux’s spine.

“He threw the lightsaber and refuses to speak with me!” Rey exclaimed as she spotted Hux coming up to her. 

“What did you do?” Hux sighed, masking his own trepidation. 

“What did I do? I just approached and held out the lightsaber!” Rey said defensively and crossed her arms. 

“Go away!” The shout came from within the hut and Hux eyed it for a second. 

“Master Skywalker, I understand if you do not really wish to meet me. But I had at the very least hoped that you would hear what I have learned in the years in the First Order,” Hux said and steeled himself. He barely got to finish before the door ripped open and Luke Skywalker’s weathered face stared back at him. 

“Armitage…” His master blinked as if he could not believe what he was seeing. Hux wanted to question whether not he had felt his arrival, but instead settled on:

“Hello, Master.” He bowed his head as a sign of respect.   
Luke came out of the hut and went to stand directly in front of Hux, flesh arm reaching out and touching his arm. It was as if he needed physical proof Hux was there. 

He reached out with the force towards the other man, but instead was met by a wall of light. He frowned.

“You cut yourself from the force?” There was no need to in this place, Ahch-To was impossible to get a read on. As if the very force itself wished to hide this place away.   
Luke retracted his hand quickly “It was necessary.” The Jedi Master’s face hardened. 

“For who or whatever than yourself?” Hux searched those crystal-clear blue eyes. 

“It doesn’t matter for anyone but me.” Luke’s eyes narrowed. 

“It does too! With the force you could help the resistance, help your sister,” Rey’s insistent voice cut between them, severing the tension. 

“Oh what, am I going to just walk out there with my lightsaber and face down the entire first order? Wave my space magic at them and they’ll all turn into good little republicans?” Luke turned his head to eye the girl with a scowl. 

“You’re a great jedi Master and a legend!” Rey insisted.

“That’s not how the force works,” both Luke and Hux said in unison. 

“You should be helping me to convince him, not siding with this nonsense.” Rey frowned at them both and Hux felt like rolling his eyes, though he understood the naïve wonder at being face to face with a legend from the last great war. 

“I didn’t promise anyone anything, besides agreeing to come with you to this place and see to that you receive some training. Especially if you intend to continue waving a lightsaber around,” Hux said deadpan. 

“I held my own against Kylo Ren!” Rey huffed, missing how Luke’s eyes widened a fraction.

“Dumb luck, you could just as easily cut a limb off, Rey. A lightsaber is a delicate tool, and it takes physical training and attunement with the force to master. You have a raw connection to the force, and while powerful it is chaos. Both in- and outside of you.” Hux went into a parade’s rest as he spoke, a habit from years of holding a firm posture amongst the officials of the First Order.   
Rey did not look pleased with his words whatsoever, but she did not speak out against him further. 

“A new force user?” Luke was again looking at Hux, who nodded. 

“There was an awakening not too long ago, powerful too. Like a star igniting out of near nothing. You must have missed it,” the last part was drawled, but Luke ignored the impertinence. 

“I won’t be training anyone, and certainly not a new force user.” Luke’s face darkened. 

“Please tell me you haven’t joined the ranks of jedis who refuse to train new students because one student was seduced by the dark side.” Hux crossed his arms over his chest. 

“My own nephew, Armitage. The Jedi and their teachings should all die out, there is no use for them in the galaxy. And hasn’t been for several years, long before the clone wars,” Luke’s voice was hard. 

“How can you say that? The jedi were legendary warriors, and the galaxy needs you! Besides are you saying that Hux too should just up and die?” Rey was scowling heavily at the old master who looked her over coldly.

“Armitage was never a jedi,” came the retort and ice spread throughout him. So, his master hadn’t forgiven him for the past then…

Rey opened her mouth to retort, but Hux went between them without another word. He started walking further up on the island, away from it all. He finally felt how tired of it all he really was, the lock off form the force, the years undercover away from the people that he cared for. Walking up the stone steps he attempted to clear his mind of all thoughts, simply taking in the feel of the island through the force. Due to its dominating presence on the island, Hux doubted Luke was completely force null even with his light walls. If he concentrated, he could imagine the force humming around him, as if he was standing in a kyber crystal cave. 

Making it to the top of the hill, he stopped to take in the view of the vast ocean that glittered in the sun. Before Ben was seduced to the dark side, before Hux had vowed to bring the wayward Skywalker home and went deep undercover in the First Order… He would have been devastated by Luke’s words. Even if he had at the time dabbled with the dark side, it still would have been a blow Hux was not even sure he would have been able to recover from back then. Now though, things were certainly different. 

Searching his feelings, Hux didn’t know Luke’s words not to be true. For years he had masqueraded as an officer of the First Order. He had done things in order to keep up appearances, things that he would have judged and condemned with all his might as a padawan. He had kept himself closed off to the force in order to avoid detection, and although he didn’t feel as if his connection was ruined or broken beyond repair… He could feel it was not at par with how it had been before he left. 

He had plotted to have his own father murdered. And although he told himself it was to help save future generations of children in the Unknown Regions; he had felt a rush of satisfaction at the act itself.   
He closed his eyes, looking into himself instead of out towards the sea. He wondered if he should be more troubled over the fact that he had felt such emotion, so close to happiness, at taking another human’s life. But he could not regret it. Taking down Brendol Hux, watch him pale beyond his usual pallor when the green lightsaber had ignited… It still brought a sense of satisfaction to Hux’s mind. 

It wasn’t due to the justifications, Hux knew that much. It was the relief, the feeling of vindication of taking down this person… this monster. He had haunted Hux’s memories and dreams long enough. 

Soft steps behind him brought him out of his darker memories, he did not need to turn to know that it was Rey who was approaching. 

“He had no right to say that,” she said softly, it was almost surprising as Hux had expected further annoyance and irritation from her. 

“He is not incorrect though, technically I am still a padawan,” he said as he turned to face her. The anger was apparent on her face though. 

“That is not what he meant, and not what you think it meant either. Stop it!” She hissed at him. 

“What do you want me to say, Rey? That I am sad? I haven’t been happy in decades. That I am angry? I am always angry these days, but I do not let it govern me or my actions.” He watched as some of her anger left her and she instead took on a look that was disturbingly close to pity. 

“You know Kylo Ren only as a monster of the dark side, Rey. But I knew him as Ben Solo, what happened broke me like it has broken Master Skywalker. And it shamed me greatly.” He averted his eyes, finding this surprisingly hard to talk about despite having come to terms with his guilt years ago. Perhaps that was something he simply thought.

“Why are you ashamed?” Rey’s voice was soft again, cautious. 

“The idea that I helped lead him astray, I told you that I strayed when I was still an apprentice under Master Skywalker. Ben and I were… close. He did not know I could cast lightning, but he knew I was staring into the dark just as he was. He began idolizing Darth Vader, his grandfather. While I felt unfit to be a proper jedi because of my heritage and did nothing to help Ben from straying from the light, I probably boosted his belief in the dark…” he looked down, salty tears pricking his eyes but he refused to let them spill. 

“But… you didn’t turn to the dark, your mother helped you see reason, didn’t she?”

“She did…” Hux looked up again, spotting Luke making his way up to them. “But by the time my resolve hardened, Snoke was already deep within Ben’s head. And I felt the need to distance myself from everyone while I tried to redeem myself for dabbling. That too likely did more harm than good,” he sighed deeply. 

“Why is it you were largely responsible for your own path keeping though, whereas you make it sound like both you and Master Skywalker were responsible for Ben’s? That makes no sense, you weren’t mean to him. You were his close friend. And you.” She turned sharply towards Luke who had stopped once he heard what their talk was about. “You were his master, and unless you abandoned him or abused him, I don’t see how you’re the reason he became Kylo Ren.” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

Luke looked so perplexed to being talked to in this manner that Hux could not contain the sputter of astonished laughter. 

“Rey, you are something else. While it isn’t that easy, you do certainly have a point,” Hux conceded before looking over at Luke again. “Master, Rey is strong with the force and she needs training to both direct and contain it. I would also like to train, if not as a jedi then as a force user. I am too deep in this conflict to abandon it now, and I barely held my own against Kylo Ren on Starkiller base. If I am to be of any use to your sister, I need to sharpen my skills.”  
Luke looked them both over for a long while, his blue eyes lingering on Hux for a while longer. 

“Fine, I will not deny Leia a properly trained force user who is already committed to the cause. And you.” He turned fully towards Rey. “Three lessons, if only to show you why the jedi should be no more. Armitage can show you how to handle the lightsaber. We begin tomorrow, at dawn. For now, I’m going to catch dinner.” He pushed past them and continued down a path. 

“Well, that was downright easy considering we just faced down a Skywalker.” He glanced at Rey who just shook her head at the old man’s back, 

“Please tell me we can begin some training before tomorrow?”

“We can start right away, keep in mind that I expect you to follow my every word.” He smirked at her and the young woman groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes  
> A major annoyance for me with the movies is just how over powered Rey is. She is basically a demigod who never makes any mistakes and masters any and all skill without trying or actually training. Thus I try to take her down a few notches and give her the story arc of someone starting from nothing and building up gradually to the master she's meant to be.   
> I love Rey, and I want to build her up as a more nuanced character than what the movies show. 
> 
> Sidenote  
> I do have a tumblr for my writing (Venetumdrabbler) that I plan to breathe some life back into. You can shout at me there.


	7. Chapter 7

“Okay, so teach me the ways of the force!” Rey broke out the moment they found a flat surface of decent size to start training. 

“Oh sure, just let me ready the beginner’s tutorial I have buried in my head,” Hux snorted as he saw Rey frowning. “First of all, it is not something you can just take in from nothing, or just in the manner of a few hours, or even just a day. No, I’ll leave the force attuning to Master Skywalker. We will start on the physical, knowing physical control will aid the mental. And, keep you from severing an arm when you use the lightsaber. Unless you plan on doing it to an opponent.” He shrugged off his sleeveless grey robe and put it over a jagged rock.

“I know how to handle myself though,” Rey insisted with a frown. 

“Oh, I see.” Hux summoned a piece of driftwood that lay nearby and went in for an attack, barely giving Rey time to counter with her quarter staff.

“Hey!”

“Show me how well you can handle yourself then,” Hux countered and managed to smack Rey in the leg before dodging to the side while Rey yelped and wildly tried to smack him back. 

“You can use that staff pretty well, and it likely helped you against Kylo Ren. But a lightsaber is much more than just a weapon.” The words flew naturally from his tongue, even if he hadn’t heard or read them in years. 

He went in for another attack, Rey parried but missed the next beat and got smacked in the shoulder with a hiss. It was obvious she was more used to heavy hitters, and not quick and agile fighters like Hux. 

“A lightsaber is an extension of yourself, your very being and your essence. To use it well, you must have a clear mind and let the force guide you as you both parry and strike.” He halted his stick just millimeters away from her neck and Rey froze.

“But I cannot use the force to do that if you won’t teach me,” Rey protested and Hux chuckled. 

“No, but you can learn the movements to the standard lightsaber fighting form that is the base of all lightsaber combat. Knowing the stances, the forms, will aid you when the force tries to guide you. It isn’t as if you will feel a tug in the right direction. You must know what to do in response to that which you will and can feel through the force.” He arched a brow at Rey, any more arguing would be childish, and he was glad to see her give in with a slow nod. 

He tossed away the driftwood from his hand and instead summoned his green saber from his belt. 

“Very good, now, follow my lead. We will attempt meditation afterwards.” If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back at Yavin teaching the younglings for the day. 

Somewhere on the island was still the disapproving shadow of his master though, who had yet to forgive him. And who had renounced him. He willed his focus away from the sting and instead focused on Rey as she tried to copy his stance.   
If he had to dwell even more on who he was at the moment, he’d likely snap.

The following morning saw Rey following Master Skywalker up to parts of the old jedi temple on the island. Luke did not invite Hux along, and Hux did not ask nor did he presume his welcome. Instead he followed a path down closer to the water. The never-ending cluck and rustle of moving water was soothing to him as he sat down in a meditative pose. Rey had taken to meditation pretty quickly yesterday, but had gotten impatient once her initial feel for the force brought no great answers to the mysteries of the universe. Sometimes Hux would forget just how young Rey was, though he was glad he could recognize it in her still even if it was in moments of annoyance and impatience.

Closing his eyes he focused on the living force all around him, seeking to reconnect and rebuild the connection he had kept apart from himself for so long. Flashes of Kylo Ren in front of his inner eye was brushed away and ignored. Despite his “dabbling” as he called it, Hux had always been good at keeping a hand on his emotions. Using logic and reasoning over the call of his heart and feelings. That would perhaps ironically make him a poor dark force user, if they were all supposed to be like Kylo anyhow. Passionate and feeling. He shook his head, banishing the thoughts of Ren once more. 

He sought out Rey’s presence on the island instead, even surrounded by so many strong force impressions Rey shone brighter. Perhaps due to familiarity at this point than anything else.   
Rey also had the ability to analyze and stay her hand so logic could be applied, and yet… Rey was passionate, and felt strongly. She had not hesitated when Kylo Ren had threatened her and Finn, her emotions tied her even more heavily to the force likely saving her life in that first encounter. She reminded him so much of Ben…

He opened his eyes with a tired sigh and the rocks that had risen around him slumped to the ground with a low thump. It would seem his mind was not being a team player at this time. And he was too tired as to question why exactly his mind kept wandering back to Kylo Ren and Ben Solo while trying to meditate. He instead decided to go back to the Falcon, maybe find something to tinker with to take his mind off things.

Rey came marching onto the Falcon in the afternoon, her similarities to Ben had clearly spooked Luke. Rey did not possess the knowledge of the dark side vs. the light side that most force users were taught as children. Hux could however understand her frustration at her would-be teacher withdrawing from her. Hux didn’t particularly feel like giving her a lecture at the moment, or just talk about it. He simply looked up when she came in in a huff, before looking back down at his little repair project. 

“I don’t get it, what’s the harm in just having a peek if the peek is super important information you have wanted your entire life?” Rey broke the silence after sitting down on the other side of the room, clearly stewing. 

“That is normally how the dark side gets to you,” Hux replied without much emotion, trying to simply focus on the repairs. 

“But you had a look and didn’t go dark or anything! If the dark side has information why not have a look and make no promises?” She insisted.

“Look, Rey,” he sighed and turned around to look at her.   
“I’m an unfeeling bastard whose master finally figured I am too much of an unfeeling bastard to be worth teaching, while also not being passionate enough for the current dark siders in power. You, however, are passionate and feel with every fiber of your being. You are interesting to the dark side, something worth tempting.”   
Rey was looking at him with wide eyes, and there was a distinct form of pity forming in her eyes. Hux hurried to shift her focus. 

“Appeal to Master Skywalker again in the morning, resume your lesson and try to not give in to temptation. If you were meant to find out about your parents, you will in due time. Patience is a universally recognized virtue.” He turned back to his work, signaling the end of the discussion. Rey sighed behind him, but said nothing further. She soon moved back outside to talk to Chewbacca, and Hux gave a quiet sigh of relief. He wasn’t in a proper mindset to talk to anyone at the moment. 

*

It was fourth day on the island when Hux’s routine changed. The third day had gone much the same as the day before. An attempt at meditation had led to negatively charged introspection that in turn made him seek other ways to distract himself. Luke’s disapproval, his own failure with Ben Solo and his inability to turn his mind away from the man had made Hux mopey even if he was very reluctant to admit it. 

Today though, his determined fixation on Falcon repairs was broken by Rey stopping next to him and clearing her throat. She had appealed to Luke the day before, and he had eventually relented and given her a new lesson that pretty much ended in more frustration for both parties. Instead off rushing off in a huff though, Rey had started going through the lightsaber forms Hux had shown her before. Now though she stood next to Hux, holding what looked like droid chassis. 

“Not training with Luke today?” Hux asked as he eyed the half-formed droid in her arms before meeting her eyes.

“I think we both need a break day today, so I made you something instead! To maybe take your mind off things!” She said cheerfully. 

“I am doing that, thank you. Repairing this piece of junk, how we managed to get here in one piece is a mystery.” He knocked his precision wrench against a newly fixed coupling.

“Repairs are routine, I was thinking more along the lines of a fun project!” She did not waver in her enthusiasm and Hux would perhaps quietly admit that it was sweet. 

“I made the shell of a droid, inspired by BB-8! You have engineering training, right? Know anything about making droids?” 

“I do. And I also know that a round body like that would land this droid in the sea with this landscape we’re in,” he snorted.

“Well, so find a solution,” Rey huffed.

Hux eyed her for a moment longer before getting up. “Alright,” he simply said, and Rey’s smile came back full force. 

As they prepared a workbench, tools and materials for their little droid he muttered a quiet thank you to her. She did not reply, but she kept that near infuriating smile all throughout their first round of droid design. 

By the time evening rolled around, Luke must have gotten curious as to why no one was bothering him today. For Hux could hear him speak to Chewbacca just outside the Falcon. He managed to catch some complaining about oil spills, but his Shyriiwook was still rusty and unfinished. 

Their little droid was coming along nicely though. Hux had added to Rey’s design, inspired by the pre-clone wars explorer droid units in the BD-series. Hux had always been fascinated by their movability and agility, as well as their versatile uses. There weren’t many, if any, of them left in the galaxy however since their factory had collapsed long before the clone wars. Rey worked well after his designs while Hux did much of the programming and wiring. When the first move-test came he had the still headless little droid push off a spanner from the table, which it completed with ease. The action reminded Hux so much of the stories about a Loth cat told by his mother when he was a boy, that he promptly named the droid Millicent. Rey protested, saying the name was not droid-like at all, and Hux had somewhat reluctantly changed her name to M1-LY (CNT). His justification was thin, but Rey accepted it with only a slight huff at least. 

They were working on some of her more specialized equipment when Luke decided to come aboard the Falcon. Hux deactivated his electric welder and Rey slowly lowered the piece she had held up for him back down to the work bench. They both just looked at Luke in silence. Hux could see his master swallow a few times before he finally opened his mouth to speak. 

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll do some meditation exercises together. You…You should join us as well, Armitage,” Luke spoke stiffly, but it was clear a lot of thought and brooding lay behind his stilted words. 

“Of course, Master Skywalker,” Hux said easily, not about to slap away his master’s hand once it was offered. 

“Good.” Luke nodded once, then once more to himself before exiting the Falcon. 

“I’d count this as progress,” Hux was quick to add once he sensed Luke’s presence drawing further away. Rey stayed quiet beside him though. “What’s with you? Luke seems to be more willing to work with his own trauma and teach you after all. Both of us, I might add,” he prodded.

“Maybe it’s not such a good idea anymore,” Rey finally said, quietly. 

“And why do you say that?”

“Kylo Ren is talking to me, through the force…” she admitted, almost at a whisper. 

If he wasn’t so shocked, he would have cursed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> StoryNotes  
> Kem fan bryr sæ?


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m sorry you what?” Hux stared openly at her.

“I don’t know how it happened, suddenly there was this odd feeling and then I could see him. Like he was there with me! I even fired my blaster at him, but then it turned out he wasn’t really here!” Rey hurriedly rambled. “So I thought to myself, oh just an illusion or trick of the dark side or something. But then he started talking and he was just as confused as me.”

Hux didn’t wish to ponder on why the dark side would show her visions of a confused Kylo Ren, but the entire scenario gave him a bad taste in his mouth. “How many times has this happened exactly?” please be a one off. 

“A few times now…”  
Damn it.

“Rey, I don’t like this. Someone could be trying to manipulate you, maybe it’s Snoke’s new teaching regime even.”  
Rey crossed her arms over her chest, frowning. “I don’t know… I mean he tries to belittle me or find out where I am sometimes. But often it just feels like… talking. He’s so conflicted, I mean, he thought you were dead and seeing you again shook him to the core!” She uncrossed her arms, turning back to the workbench, toying   
with one of the tools. “I think there is a lot of Ben in him still, more than what you thought…” she looked back up at him, judging his reaction. 

Hux frowned back at her before holding out his hand, Rey looked at him quizzically.   
“Show me, think back on your encounters with Kylo Ren and open your mind,” he explained. “It will help me judge the situation,” he added at her still skeptical features. 

Rey looked at his hand for a while before turning back to face him, moving her eyes up to his and taking a hold of his hand.   
Hux had suspected Rey had some level of psychometry-skill from her visions from touching the old Skywalker lightsaber, the clarity of her thoughts and emotions made it all the clearer to him now though as he received Rey’s memories through the physical link made by their hands. 

He saw how Kylo Ren appeared to her in one of the little stone huts, appearing just as confused as Rey felt the moment they laid eyes on each other. He merely twitched when Rey pulled out her blaster and shot at the image, which disappeared. He watched as Rey hurried outside of the hut, again seeing the image of Kylo Ren. He went from demanding to questioning in a span of a minute, and if he hadn’t seen it himself he never would have believed Kylo Ren actually slowing down and analyzing a situation as it unfolded.   
And although he wouldn’t admit it, seeing him bare faced and with the scar Hux had given him on Starkiller made his heart ache. He resented that ache, but couldn’t find it in him to banish it entirely. 

Memory-Rey and memory-Kylo stared at one another as Rey refused to tell where she was. Then both their attentions were drawn to a new voice.

“What the blazes are you doing blasting the walls, Rey?” it was Hux’s own, slightly annoyed voice. He couldn’t see himself, but he could clearly hear the voice. It appeared both Rey and Kylo had also heard it. 

Rey turned to stare at Kylo Ren, who in turn had an odd expression on his face. “You’re with Armitage…” It was spoken quietly before the connection between the two broke for now and Rey again could perceive her surroundings more clearly. 

Hux didn’t have the time to comment on the memory though as Rey pulled him into another one immediately. It was after Hux had refused conversation yet again and was burying himself in the repair work on the Falcon. Porgs had begun to invade every possible crevice of the damned ship, not making his job any easier. Chewbacca was in the cockpit trying to ping the resistance without luck, so Rey moved back outside where a storm had rolled in, washing the sea spray off of the Falcon. As she let the rain wash over her extended hand, there was an odd lull in the force. When she turned her head, there was Kylo Ren once more. Looking as if he had physically appeared. There was no shock in him this time, only calm calculation as he eyed Rey who had visibly tensed up. 

“Why is the force connecting us?” He sounded so much like Ben in that moment Hux almost felt the need to draw back, back away from such obvious temptation. 

“Why don’t you just give up. We won, we found Skywalker,” Rey hissed back, all hackles raised. 

“Did he tell you what happened? Skywalker, about the night I destroyed his temple?” Kylo’s voice was still calm, and he didn’t even twitch at Rey’s outburst. Instead he moved closer, slowly as if approaching a cornered animal. 

“I know all I need to know about you.” Rey stood her ground, gaze not wavering one fraction.

“You do?” Kylo stopped, bending his head down a bit as if he was trying to meet Rey’s eyes at her height. “Ah, you do. You have that look in your eyes, like the one back in the forest. And you think me a monster.” Hux turned to look at memory-Rey, and he saw it too. Killing intent. He hadn’t seen it in the forest when he had engaged Kylo Ren in battle, Rey had been corned then and her eyes were looking around wildly for an escape. This must have been what had saved her in her first fight with Ren. It was more than a little troubling. 

“You wanted to murder your own father! If Hux hadn’t been there you would have without hesitation, you are a monster.” Rey’s lips were trembling, but Hux couldn’t say for sure from what. It was however clear there was more to her feelings around Kylo Ren than just their past encounter. 

“Yes, I am,” Came the near whispered reply from Ren before the force connection broke once more and Rey was staring out at the roaring sea.   
He didn’t get time to properly react to that either as Rey pulled him along, almost rushed him as if she wasn’t entirely comfortable with Hux having seen that. 

Rey was walking away from her latest practice with Luke, clearly frustrated at the turn of events. Again, came the lull in the force, signaling almost the activation of the force connection between the two. Hux had never heard of the force doing something like this, someone or something had to be manipulating it. If it was Kylo, he was much more powerful, calculating and manipulative than Hux had or ever would have given him credit for. 

“I’d rather not do this now,” Rey sighed in annoyance. 

“Yeah, me too,” Ren’s voice was distinctly uncomfortable and Hux turned before Rey did and almost had to pick his jaw up from the ground. He would have fallen out of the memory sharing if he hadn’t hurriedly pushed the distraction away. Kylo Ren stood awkwardly in front of him, trying to hunch in on himself to appear smaller. 

The glaring contrast between his dark trousers and the paleness of his naked chest was jarring though. And every detail of his revealed skin stood out to him against the dark background. Hux vehemently ignored how his mouth started to feel dry.

Rey was also obviously flustered when she turned around as she practically ordered him to cover up.   
Ren shuffled his feet a little awkwardly before just staring back at Rey obviously feeling a bit at a loss at the moment. 

“Why… Why did you destroy Luke’s temple?” Rey scrambled to find something to distract them both from the awkwardness. 

“I don’t know what destroyed the temple, I just wanted to answer Snoke’s call and go to him,” he admitted. Hux felt surprise overtake his flustering. 

“The temple was destroyed when you left though,” Rey accused. 

“Skywalker sensed my power, as he senses yours. It frightened him then, just as it frightens him now. He tried to kill me, I responded like anyone would in that kind of situation. Snoke answered my call in my time of need and betrayal. He guided me, saved me.” Ren was sending out flashes of his memory for Rey to catch, Hux saw them as well and recalled that horrible night. 

“You could have killed Hux.” Rey’s eyes narrowed, not offering any sympathy. 

“I thought I did,” Ren’s voice was small and suddenly Hux was staring at a much younger version of himself, tears streaking down his face. He was facing a crazed looking Ben Solo who had his blue saber raised in attack position. Behind them the temple was already ablaze, the smoke had drawn Hux out of his meditation in his and Ben’s hiding spot. 

_”What have you done, Ben?!”_ he heard the echo of his own voice. He heard the disbelief and the desperation. And he recalled how he had desperately hoped none of this was Ben’s doing. 

_”You’ve abandoned me too! I know you have! Move aside Armitage, I’m leaving.”_ the echo of Ben’s roar rung clearly in time with his own memories. 

_”I cannot let you go, Ben. And where would you even go? You would never give in to Snoke!”_ memory-Hux had presented that as a fact, but the pleading was clear as day in his trembling voice.

_”He is the only one who hasn’t abandoned me, he is the only one who would guide me to true power. Now move aside!”_

_”No!”_ memory-Hux ignited his own saber and the two clashed together moments later. 

For the briefest moment Hux recalled how Ben’s lips had felt against his own, and realized it was Ren remembering the time before the dark side had attempted its temptation of both boys. The memory ended though, and Rey pulled away from their connection shortly after. Only spending a brief moment observing Ren’s conflicted face before he faded away.   
Hux shook his head as he was brought back to the present where Rey had pulled back her hand. Looking up at him with wide eyes. 

“That’s what that was!” She exclaimed as Hux rubbed his palm over his eyes, the pressure behind them building a bit at the strain he had just been through.

“What was?” He questioned, still not opening his eyes as he felt the familiar sting of oncoming tears threatening to break through. 

“You and Ben, you weren’t just friends, were you?”

“We were… close, yes. Not that it counted for anything, as you just saw.” He gestured out into the air between them before sitting down on one of the crates next to the workshop table.

“He thought he killed you, how did you get away?” Rey sat down on one of the chairs they had dragged out for breaks. 

“Teleportation, using it like that nearly killed me as I was but a novice in it. I had planned to train in it to an acceptable level and then introduce it to Ben as a peace offering for… well me drawing away for so long.”

“You can teleport?” Rey obviously chose not to prod the second half of his sentence, and Hux was secretly glad for it. He already felt raw from seeing Ren in Rey’s memories. 

“No, I haven’t attempted it since that time. It took days before I came to. If Leia hadn’t ordered a throughout search for survivors in the area in the aftermath of Ben’s disappearance, I wouldn’t have made it.” He had spent several days submerged in a bactatank.

“But you could try and train it up again, learn to do it safely?” she pushed.

“In theory, but Rey… You did not show me your memories to discuss these things,” he warned gently. 

“I don’t know how Ren and I became connected, but it has become obvious to me that he’s still conflicted. That Ben Solo is still in there!” Her tone became energetic and it made an icy lump of dread settle in Hux’s stomach.

“Look, Rey… I am sure Ren has his regrets. But he’s clearly committed to his path on the dark side,” he reasoned.

“Hux, you saw his face after he relived that memory. And whenever you are mentioned I see his mask slip! He’s clearly very affected by your survival.” Rey crossed her arms over her chest, clearly standing her ground.

“Rey, I tried for years to affect Ren in the direction of the light. Nothing worked, and when I fought him on Starkiller he was even more intent on ending my life than what he was back at Master Skywalker’s temple.” Hux felt bone tired as he tried to get through to Rey.

“But he didn’t know you had survived! It could be that is all the difference needed,” she insisted. 

“There are many things that could be and how abouts. Have you stopped and considered this force connection is most likely someone’s, possibly Ren’s, doing to attempt and draw you in?” Hux countered. 

“You saw how confused he was the first time it happened!”

“Lying is a thing that exists, Rey.” He frowned and she hopped to her feet with a huff.

“I don’t have to sit here and be treated like a child. We’ll talk about it later, good night.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the falcon. Likely marching all the way back up to the stone hut she had claimed for herself. 

Hux sighed heavily and looked over to the workbench where the half-finished droid sat inactive. He moved his eyes away and just stared out into the room.   
Unbidden the memories of sun filled days by the little pond, hidden away from the temple, came to mind. Filled with laughter, nervous admissions, followed by eager exploration. Soft, clumsy lips against his own. 

He rose to his feet quickly and hurried back to the work bench, in half-desperate bid to banish this old ghost. It would bring nothing but pain now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes  
> I'd like to remind anyone reading that this is a slow burn.   
> Also Next the rating will be upped to mature, but this is several chapters in the future. If at all, might end it before that point. Time will tell.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge shoutout to Unicorncupcakez, without whom this fic would not have existed and certainly would lack a great many details.   
> Thank you!

Hux hadn’t gotten a very impressive amount of sleep that night. Seeing Ben, or Kylo, like that brought back maelstroms of conflicting and confusing feelings. Accompanied by memories, both light and dark, but all carrying the same bitter aftertaste. Eventually he gave up entirely on sleep and headed to the cockpit of the Falcon instead. Chewbacca had set up a feed that took in news from the republic as the Falcon’s scanners and antennae managed to catch the signals. It didn’t look good, the First Order had made their move swiftly despite their own major losses. They had struck at the heart of the republic and in their weakened state they had no choice but to give in. Deals and alliances made with various factions from both the Unknown Regions and the Outer Rim saw the galaxy divvied up with the First Order going for the main prize in the middle. It wasn’t like the empire of old, not yet at least. 

The First Order and its allies had effectively bullied the galaxy into submission and if they were given enough time, they would surely widen their reach. And eventually their allies would submit or perish to the ones who had once helped them take advantage of a weakened republic. It made Hux sick to think that he had in some twisted way had a hand in it all, and he turned away from the feed as there was no glimmers of light to be found. He instead went back to M1-LY and continued working on her till dawn was upon him and he was expected to meet up with Rey for training. 

He donned his grey robe and started to walk out. A series of inquisitive beeps stopped him. He looked over and saw the droid, now with her maglocked head firmly in place. Her personality matrix must have finished calibrating, and Hux was pleased she was already exhibited enough independence to actually turn herself on. 

“Why, hello there…” He smiled and turned around fully, approaching the work bench. “You’re a quick one, aren’t you? Much faster than I would have anticipated.” He studied the little droid with a tilted head, a move she mirrored. There were still some details to be done, and more equipment Hux wanted to add to her.

“Can you stand?” He asked and the droid gave an excited trill, pushing up from the table with her two legs built for agility and speed. She put pressure on the left first, then the right before trilling up at Hux again hopping from leg to leg excitedly. 

“Such a good girl! Can you also extend you neck?” They had built in an extender just under her head that should enable the droid to extend and bend her neck while still being magnetically connected to her body. M1-LY extended her neck fully, showing off her reach before retracting it, but not all the way. Leaving the impression of a small neck. “Brilliant,” Hux praised and got happy beeps in return, quickly followed by a question.

“Ah, yes I didn’t include your serial number. You are almost built from scratch. I’ve called you M1-LY CNT for now though, M1-LY or Milly for short. Is that agreeable?” 

“Fwhoee!” Came the excited trill which Hux took as acceptance. “Do you think you’d like to try and come with me, Milly? See the outside world for a bit? It’s not raining,” He added hurriedly as he saw M1-LY looking at some of her uncovered spots. She agreed with a beep and hopped over, climbing Hux’s arm with ease and settled on his shoulder.

He was glad he had managed to do right by her legs, she moved easily on them and her climbing was also decent even if she did wobble a bit. Her lightweight materials and small size also made for a forgiving weight on his shoulders and back. He could make a few adjustments, but was glad to see that he and Rey had already done a solid job. 

Milly beeped into his ear and he smiled as he began walking outside again. “My name is indeed Hux, the girl who also worked on you is named Rey. Don’t worry, I’ll hook you up to the holonet soon and you can have a day to just learn and grow.”  
The droid trilled in excitement again and Hux found her enthusiasm infectious, he went smiling to the training area Luke had mainly set up for Rey. 

Rey and Luke were already present when Hux made it there, Milly insisted on filling her databanks with all manner of scans so the trek had taken longer than strictly necessary. Hux couldn’t say he minded though, this happy little creature he had helped create was way better at taking Hux’s mind off of most of the grim things that hid out in the galaxy. 

“Oh! You got her up and running!” Rey exclaimed with a cheer as he saw the droid peeking out over Hux’s shoulder. 

“What’s this then?” Luke asked as he stepped over to inspect. 

“Master Skywalker, this is M1-LY or Milly. Rey and I started building her not long ago, take our mind off of some things.” He crouched down and held his arm down to the ground. Milly caught on immediately and scurried down onto the ground where she extended her neck to look around probably missing the height advantage she had while riding Hux’s shoulder. 

“Is that some inspiration from the BD-series I see?” 

“Good eye Master, I thought it would be fitting to Ahch-To’s terrain.” He knew Luke was a deft hand at mechanics himself, having grown up on a moisture farm on Tatooine made one’s skills rather versatile. Serving as a resistance fighter pilot only added to that. He was secretly pleased that his master was taking an interest in Rey and his’ project though. He lifted his gaze up from Milly and back to Luke, and found to his amazement the man smiling down at the little droid.

“I remember your fascination with the few service droids we had at the temple, and I knew already back then that you’d be a decent engineer. Probably better.” Luke lifted his piercing blue gaze to look at him, smile lessening but still present.

“It… it was one of the few things I enjoyed at the officer training on Arkanis,” the words tumbled out before he had time to weight them. Why would he say that though, now he was just reminding Luke of all those… not so good things, he-

His train of thought was stopped by Luke’s sure voice “I am glad you managed to find something you could enjoy in that place, Armitage,” his Master said sincerely, and it was if Hux’s very being got a little lighter.

“Now.” Luke turned back to Rey. “Let’s get to that meditation, controlled if you please. No cracking the island in two or I am ending this immediately.”  
Hux arched a brow at Rey who simply frowned before sitting down on one of the flat rocks, closing her eyes. 

Hux himself sank into a meditative position and closed his own eyes. The soft whirring of Milly’s machinery that got through her uncomplete chassis was relaxing and kept him from gloomy distractions. 

He felt almost a little closer to being at peace. For now, anyway. 

*  
There had been a change in Luke after that morning when Hux had joined him and Rey for meditation. He seemed less tense when Hux was around. Not only that but he also showed up for Hux’s lightsaber lesson with Rey, commenting on both their forms. Hux felt his own attentive nature returning as comments turned into instructions. Movements that had still felt a little rusty finally came to him with ease and grace, no need to even think as Luke bid him to move in a complicated form set. 

Rey was also a natural, her style wasn’t as graceful with the one-handed saber as her style with her quarterstaff. Hux made a note to suggest that when she built her own, she made it a two-sided blade. She was more than nimble enough to easily master several forms for such a weapon. 

After they had concluded that day’s lesson Hux even felt mentally strong enough to speak to Rey about her force connection to Kylo Ren. He waited till Luke had left to catch dinner though, it was not something the Master needed worrying him just yet. At least not if Rey was still being cautious. From how she frowned when he stopped her from retreating to her own stone hut though, Hux didn’t get a good feeling. 

“Rey, about Kylo Ren and this… connection. I’ve thought about it and I still don’t like it. I think perhaps we should try and train you in how to block such things, deny access to your mind. A useful skill to have regardless,” he tried softening the message by appealing to her interest in anything related to the use of the force.   
He was disappointed to see her frown turn into a scowl. 

“You cannot be serious! The connection gives me a golden opportunity to find the light in him, and then help him back to that light,” she insisted.   
It all sounded very naïve to Hux, too much like himself when he had left his home behind to go undercover. 

“I know you mean well by this Rey, and I know your wish to try is very genuine. I felt the same way over a decade ago. So please listen to me, and don’t make the same mistakes I made. Especially when you don’t know how this happened, or more likely who is behind it!” He felt desperation climb ever higher in him as he saw Rey reject his words almost the moment they were out of his mouth. 

“And I don’t want to be treated like a child! How can you deny the change in him since he saw his father, and you, at Starkiller? You saw for yourself how he looked after reliving that memory of you two.” She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

“I know he tried to kill me on Starkiller despite knowing my real identity. Ren knows me as General Hux, and he wouldn’t hesitate to murder me on sight. Strike this from your mind Rey, or bad things will happen, and I don’t need to meditate on it to see that,” Hux pressed, refusing to relent. 

“I cannot believe you! I thought he was your friend, what kind of person doesn’t want to help their friend? He is practically crying for it!” And now she was shouting, this was not going anywhere near the direction Hux had hoped for. It didn’t help that his desperation for her to understand now led him to annoyance and anger.

“He isn’t my friend! Ben Solo was my friend and he was corrupted by that ghoul Snoke! He cannot be helped, and perhaps he shouldn’t be helped! He made his own damn choice, you pointed out yourself that we don’t owe him anything.” Using Rey’s own words against didn’t seem to be a wise move however, as she now simply huffed at him before storming away. 

“That… could have gone better…” He sighed and looked down at M1-LY who had kept her distance as their voices had risen. Milly gave a questioning sound and Hux shook his head. “No, best leave her alone for now, perhaps think of a way to better make my point across. I guess I fear losing her too, she reminds me so much of Ben. Especially the thick headed part,” he sighed before crouching down and letting Milly climb up to his shoulder. 

“Looks like another bout of bad weather though, best get you back to the Falcon and fix those plates, huh?”

“Fh-whoee,” Milly agreed enthusiastically, and Hux found himself smiling despite his lesser mood.

*

He had just finished Milly’s plating when he felt a rush in the force, feelings of panic as well as anger rushed through the air. He barely gave Milly time to hop on before he hurried out of the Falcon to see what was going on. His stomach sank as he heard sounds of a battle and his mind went to memories from over a decade ago, with the same kind of setting as this. 

He found Rey standing apart from Luke, she was holding her staff and Luke holding one of the driftwood branches from a firewood pile nearby. 

“Answer me!” she demanded, anger clear in her voice. 

“What the kriff is going on?!” Hux interjected before Luke could reply anything at all. 

“Don’t get involved,” Rey hissed at him. 

“Don’t get involved? Rey, I find you in a very similar scene from over a decade ago only Ben stood where you stood. And I know of the damned connection between you and Ren and you tell me to not get involved? Are you daft?” He felt his own anger rise.

“You knew?!” Luke belted out.

“I learned about it yesterday and despite it being a recent development, I see I should have come to you right away Master Skywalker. I am sorry,” he bit out, eyes not leaving Rey. 

“I am NOT being controlled by anyone, I just want to know if Luke really did try to kill Ben!” Rey lowered her staff as to not look so blood thirsty, the rage in her voice told a different story though. Her words however, gave Hux pause and he finally moved his gaze over to Luke instead. Luke was looking at him, eyes pleading for understanding and Hux knew even before he started replying to Rey.

“I had sensed the darkness in him, and on that fateful night I went to him to see even deeper. It was worse than I thought, Snoke was everywhere in his mind and Ben was beyond starting to give in. I am ashamed to admit it, but it frightened me. Frightened me so much that I reacted on pure instinct.” The implication of this hung heavy in the air between them. The rain that soaked through Hux’s clothes had nothing to do with the bone deep chill he was currently feeling. Luke continued, his voice not wavering, but full of emotion.

“The moment I activated the lightsaber though, I felt such shame. That I could even begin to consider such an act. Me, the son of Darth Vader who in the end managed to become Anakin Skywalker once more. When I looked down on my nephew again, he was awake. And the look of betrayal in those eyes will haunt me to the end of my days. He reacted as well, and I had no time to explain. When I came to, Ben was gone, and my temple and academy lay in ruins. Several of my students slain. I failed him.” The words felt so quiet against the thundering rain, and still Hux had heard every syllable. And the words shocked him to the core. Rey was the one who had asked Luke, but Luke was looking only at Hux. They did not move when Rey again spoke.

“You are both wrong to have given up on Ben Solo, and I am going to prove it. But for what it is worth, I don’t believe you failed him. Ben failed you, that doesn’t mean he should be condemned to a life in darkness forever more,” Rey said firmly and started walking towards Hux. “I am leaving to find Ben and help him back to the light side. Do not come with me unless this is something you believe can be done,” She said firmly, not looking at him before she continued down on the trek back to the Falcon. He did not look after her, instead he kept his eyes on his master. Wide and unblinking. 

But Hux also knew that when the Falcon took off, he would not be on board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes  
> M1-LY is obviously inspired by BD-1 from the Star Wars Game Jedi: Fallen Order. BD quickly became my favorite droid ever, and since I am very fond of the Millicent HC I wanted to include her. But a cat would perhaps not fit Hux's current lifestyle as it did when he was more "Stationary" (as in on the same Star Destroyer at most times) SO I combined the HC with my fave droid series.   
> M1-LY's shape was worked out together with UnicornCupcakez (who unlike me knows how to draw and does it well).   
> M1-LY is very cat inspired both in design and mannerism which I'll try to remember to put in from time to time. 
> 
> Honestly, I just thought Hux needed a droid companion too!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed the change in rating!  
> This change does not appear in this chapter. I am a few chapters ahead in my writing and where I am currently at the rating upped. So to not forget when I actually post that chapter, I upped the rating here now.   
> I will notify in the notes when the story earns its M-rating.

Luke held the door to his own stone hut open for Hux without a word. And Hux followed him in silence. The hut was warmed from the fire in the middle and Hux shed his soaked robe and hanged it up beside the door before taking a seat opposite of Luke. They stared at one another for a moment before Luke finally broke the silence.

“I saw him, in the hut with Rey. Even with my dulled senses I could feel a second presence in there and went to look. Their hands were touching, I’ve never seen anything like it in my time,” he began and the implication that Luke could see Ren even though he was supposed to be a vision connected to Rey only carried the look of a bad omen to Hux. 

“Rey told me last night that she had seen Ren, that the force was connecting them so they could see each other. I even got her to show me her memories of the times it has happened.”

“Times, plural?” Luke sounded affronted and made a face very similar to how Hux had felt when Rey first told him. He gave a curt nod.

“The first time it happened, Ren appeared confused. Rey tried to shoot him as if she thought he had just manifested physically in the room. This broke the connection but only briefly. Ren then tried to exploit the situation which Rey didn’t respond to. The connection happened twice more before tonight, always happening when she felt either alone or hopeless. Naturally Ren utilized this, made her feel for him I suppose if the display outside was anything to go by,” Hux concluded as he also realized he should have recognized the pattern earlier and presented it to Rey. It could have made her see reason. Not any more though, now she was dead set on a decision she felt she had made herself. 

“And you don’t think neither Rey nor Ren made this happen, or that Ren at least has a hand in it?” 

“It’s at least a little more plausible to me. Ren told Rey the first time that she was not doing this, the effort would kill her. But I also don’t believe Ren is that powerful that he can force project across the galaxy. But it all seems a bit too convenient and coincidental, the universe is rarely that lazy.”

“I agree… but now she is set on her path and I think we both can see that she cannot be dissuaded. She is a lot like Ben, isn’t she? Not just in the way of the force,” Luke concluded.

“They’re both stubborn fools, yes,” Hux sighed looking down at Milly who was eyeing him with a very good impression of a curious look. 

“It reminds me a lot of the incidents where I became aware Ben was being contacted by Snoke, always happening when he felt alone or unsuccessful and unfulfilled. I’d keep that in mind going forward, Armitage. We cannot be sure if this is a familiar shadow rearing its head, or if the force really has intervened. Supposedly it has happened on occasion, half or so times during a millennia,” Luke mused to which Hux had no reply. 

He then felt his master’s intense eyes directed right at him once more. And Hux looked up at him, not sure about what would come next. 

“Armitage, I am sorry for what happened with Ben. And I am sorry for not being there for you after it happened, I was so engulfed by my own shame and grief I made no time for you. One of my few surviving students, and later my only surviving student.” He bowed his head down. 

“I… I am sorry for what happened with Ben as well. And I should never have doubted your teachings, Master Skywalker,” the words tumbled from his lips.

“When did you ever doubt my teachings, Armitage?”

“When I strayed towards the dark, delved beyond the mere introduction and tapped into my feelings of doubt and resentment…Even though you and my mother made me see the error and folly of my ways, I didn’t feel I could properly re-integrate myself with the others before I had proven my dedication to the light side again…” He couldn’t meet Luke’s eyes as he made these admissions. 

“Your sudden interest in Force healing, a rather ambitious skill as well. And you make it sound as if you failed me, failed the others which I take to mean you feel as if you failed Ben.” Hux threw a quick glance at him “Oh, don’t give me that look. You two were practically inseparable from the moment Leia arrived with Ben. Leia was so relieved that he had found a friend, he had been lonely for so long.”

“I was friendly with all the other padawans,” he felt the need to defend himself.

“Oh sure, did you also sneak off with all the other padawans to a small secluded pond and come back looking like lovesick fools afterwards?” Luke arched an amused brow and Hux felt himself flushing despite this being well over a decade ago. “You know Armitage, despite everything I find it adorable that you thought I didn’t know what was going on in my own temple,” Luke actually chuckled after this. 

“Well I… you could have said something…” Hux said lamely. 

“Whatever for? You two were clearly good for one another, and I have always thought the no connections rules from the old Jedi were too strict and confining. It kept them removed from the true world around them. Like they were demigods way up there in their tower, only meant to observe the people and never lower themselves among them. Only in times of extreme need and only at the council’s allowance did they descend, it was arrogant,” Luke concluded. 

“But if I hadn’t allowed my relationship with Ben go beyond that of usual camaraderie… perhaps he wouldn’t have felt as betrayed by my distance,” the words came quietly. 

“Or he could have been seduced by Snoke quicker if he still felt more than friendship towards you and you distanced yourself from it. I chose to believe that what you and Ben had together was a good thing and all the sad coincidences around it were simply coincidences beyond anyone’s control.” Luke again caught his gaze as he felt Milly crawling into his lap and curling up to power down and recharge batteries. 

“Master… by that logic you should also chose to believe Snoke had already seduced Ben beyond any will to be reasoned with as he responded to your ignited lightsaber by attacking instead of asking.” Hux dared to arch a brow and Luke sighed.

“I suppose that spitfire of a girl was right about that at the very least, we’ve both been fools about this.”

“Perhaps that is the case, indeed,” Hux agreed with a small smile that also held a hint of bewilderment at the measure of absurdity he felt over this whole situation. 

Rey had attacked their master and made noisy demands of him. Luke had finally come clean and Rey had stormed off after berating them both and naming them   
fools. Instead of locking himself off Luke had instead opened himself up to his student. As if the final push from Rey had been enough to wake what Hux recognized as his old master from his decade long slumber. 

They shared no more words that evening, the already mutual understanding between them enough for now. They both went to rest for the night. There was no need for more words just yet.   
Morning came and saw Master and student stand by the ancient huts and watch the Falcon fly away from the ancient islands and break through the clouds. Milly gave a small dejected sound at seeing her first home fly away from them.

“Don’t worry Milly, we’ll see the Falcon again. And Rey too if she doesn’t manage to get herself killed first, I suppose,” Hux sighed.

“Perhaps you should go after her?” Luke suggested while still keeping his eyes on the sky. 

“I don’t feel as if I would be of much use to her, I am uncertain about my place in the universe after all that has happened,” Hux admitted somberly. 

“Uncertain in what way?” Luke finally turned and looked at him. 

“If there are no place for the Jedi in the galaxy anymore I don’t have a purpose, I’ve also already failed the Jedi teachings but also do not wish to seek out Snoke.” He wrinkled his nose at the very though. “So as just a force user, I have no real role. The resistance would have me as a Jedi, would I then not go against your wishes and arguments that the Jedi should die out. Would I not be deluding them as I am not truly a Jedi?”

“You were always the over-thinker Hux, but in this instance I can see much of your questions stem from my own convictions.” Luke began wandering down a path and Hux felt it natural to follow, with Milly securely on his shoulder. 

“The true folly of the Jedi was their arrogance and their removal from society in general. I’ve always believed that and even back at the academy I taught you all that you should walk amongst the people for it is for them our skills should be put to use. To serve as peacekeepers and aid to the people.” Luke led them towards what appeared as a large, ancient tree. It resonated deeply with the force however and Hux didn’t need to ask to know that the first Jedi temple. 

“When you began walking towards the dark, and later when Ben actually turned to the dark side. I felt as if my modification to the Jedi teachings were in themselves destructive. That the Jedi had to be isolated because they were so easily corruptible and led astray. What I failed to realize is that I reacted exactly as every Jedi Master who has lost a student to the dark side. It was nothing new or extraordinary about it.” Luke stopped in front of the tree and Hux came up beside him, looking at his Master who stared up at the barren branches of the tree. 

“If Master Yoda was here he would surely have laughed at my folly, even at my old age I’m refusing to see the possibility of learning from my mistakes,” he chuckled and shook his head before looking at Hux.

“You are a Jedi Armitage, however not like the Jedi of old. And you shouldn’t be either. You are a grey Jedi, and your kind of Jedi is perhaps exactly what the galaxy needs.”

“A grey Jedi?” Hux arched his brows, he had read about them at some point in his youth but had never thought to associate himself with them. 

“The galaxy is a whole lotta grey in it these days, not the same sharp edges between light and dark as it used to back in the old Jedi glory days.”

“You trust me to not fall to the dark even if I let it close enough to be grey?” Hux met his master’s eyes, green searching blue and being searched in turn. 

“I think that your understanding of both the darkness and the light makes you human. Your convictions, your friends and your cause will keep you honest and on the right path. Better than any dusty Jedi tome ever could.” 

Hux blinked his eyes, feeling the familiarity of tears and the unfamiliar feeling of an inner joy and pride accompanying the sting. 

“I am damned proud of you, and I am sorry for not showing it sooner,” Luke’s voice was becoming a bit emotional as well. 

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me,” Hux quipped with a small smile and didn’t bother to hold back the tears as the older man smiled and drew him in in a small hug. 

“Go after Rey, Armitage. Ben might be lost to the light, but nothing’s to say he cannot become grey as well and I know no finer candidate to try that than you,” Luke said voice again somber as he again looked at Hux who nodded in turn. 

“Come, you can use my old X-wing.”

Luke’s old X-wing was in amazing condition considering it had been under water for so long. It took close to no time at all between the two of them and Milly to get it prepped and ready for takeoff.

“When you see Leia and Han again, Armitage, could you perhaps give them a message?” Luke said as Hux climbed into the pilot seat, Milly following him and settling on his lap.

“Unless it is ‘please come pick me up’, no,” Hux simply replied with a smirk at his master’s affronted look. “Master, despite Rey taking off on us she had a point and she helped us learn an important lesson. Perhaps even more important she managed to get us to sit down, clear the air and help one another away from the guilt that has been eating us both.”   
Luke tsked but didn’t argue, letting Hux continue. 

“You are encouraging me to find this new role you helped stake out for me, that also means you should attempt the same, don’t you think?” His smirk mellowed into a sincere smile. 

“We’ll see, cheeky padawan of mine. Good luck, and may the force be with you.” Luke withdrew from the X-wing as cockpit closed around Hux, systems approving him for flight. 

Hux left Ahch-To as a changing man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes  
> Jedi: The Light side of the Force is the best!  
> Sith: The Dark side of the force is the best!  
> Grey Jedi: FORCE IS FORCE.
> 
> Ehem. I've always been fascinated by the Grey Jedi (Sometimes also called Dark Jedi or Light Sith) and felt this title fit Hux the best as he is pragmatic and a bit utilitarian (Values something for how useful it is). Very few people are born evil, this includes Hux even in canon. In this story I have tried (and still am) to explore Hux's personality if we take away most of the influence Brendol, his wife and some of his cronies/friends had on the young Hux. He has instead been raised by a loving mother and had Luke Skywalker as a mentor. So I have tried to keep most of Hux's personality that I felt didn't stem from cruelty, abuse and neglect. And added an understanding, morality and heart of someone who had the good fortune of growing up loved and under the guidance of one of the galaxy's biggest heroes and legends.   
> Success or not, I am having a blast working on this (And finally putting some psych. skills to use pf).


	11. Chapter 11

“I forgot how much I detest flying,” Hux groaned just after he left hyperspeed at a safe distance from the Supremacy. Finding it had been simple enough, as Hux’s tracker on the Supremacy was still intact. He had installed it ages ago after one of the few face to face audiences he had had with Snoke. His nerves had been frayed beyond almost all hope and he had vowed to never let Snoke catch him off guard in person. If he knew the ghoul was coming, he could better prepare and perhaps keep his head on his shoulders where it belonged. Rey was going to Kylo, Kylo had more than likely gone back to Snoke after the fiasco on Starkiller base. Thus, the leap that Kylo also was on the Supremacy was not too great. Unless dumb luck played into it all Hux was fairly confident he was moving in the right direction. 

As he approached the signal of the Supremacy though his eyes widened. It wasn’t just the Supremacy, but a large portion of the First Order fleet was accompanying it as well. Further ahead, just out of reach from the Supremacy’s main canons were the resistance fleet. Or what was left of it. The situation seemed to be much more dire than what Hux had initially thought after reading the message that the resistance had been found. They had escaped by the skin of their teeth before, something must have changed. He would have to investigate that later though, his main priority was Rey.

At this distance he could sense her on the Supremacy. At least his reasoning hadn’t been off, that would have been rather embarrassing. 

“Bu-beep?” Milly piped up from his lap.

“I’ve engaged a stealth system, I shouldn’t appear on their sensors. That said this ship is bloody ancient with no offence intended to Master Luke,” he said with a wry smile to himself.

Milly made a displeased sound.

“Yeah, no I would be screwed if anyone looked out of a window. But as long as I don’t go in front of the ship let’s hope no one is so inefficient that they are staring out of windows, hm? I deserve some luck as well,” he sighed. 

As luck would have it, Hux found a hangar that seemed to be near void of people. Hux did not really believe in luck though despite his earlier words, thus the emptiness had to be caused by something. He landed the X-wing somewhat shakily in the empty hangar without any alarms being tripped. Which was just sloppy really, and the former General in him frowned at the blatant negligence. 

When he exited the cockpit though he could hear why this hangar was empty, as the twin hangar adjacent to this one was filled with commotion. He bid Milly to be silent as he walked up to the door controls and opened them with a small motion with his hand, forcing the controls with the force.   
No one reacted to the doors opening and now Hux could also see why. 

Close to the hangar entrance the former stormtrooper Finn with a companion in First Order uniform were being subdued under Phasma’s command while a hangar full of stormtroopers looked on. Hux clung to what shadows there was to be found in the hangar in an attempt to sneak closer, making himself less conspicuous with help from the force. In reality he was influencing the minds closest to him to pay him no heed. 

An officer he didn’t recognized had walked up to Finn and the woman, and from the looks he was receiving from the other two Hux would take a wild guess and say they weren’t friends.

“S-sorry guys, nothing personal you know? Just b-business,” the man said with a mild stutter. 

“You’re a damned traitor is what you are!” Finn barked back, struggling against his restraints. 

“No t-traitors here, just s-smart people and dead p-people.” The man had the audacity to smirk at the bound pair.

“Your reward, as agreed,” Phasma interrupted, sounding more bored than anything. 

Hux reached out for her through the force, seeing into her mind briefly and was almost surprised at what he found. Phasma was becoming disillusioned with the First Order, she found questions everywhere where there had only been certainty before. His eyes widened as he saw himself at the center of much of her doubt. Hux had been an image for what Phasma believed the First Order should be, ruthless but also someone who valued and took care of its people. Someone who saw what the galaxy lacked and sought to fix it with a firm and steady hand. But when it turned out that Hux had been a traitor to the order all along, Phasma had found herself questioning what had really been the First Order and what had been Hux himself. As she had searched for answers to these questions, she hadn’t liked what she had found. 

It was a lot more risk than Hux was normally comfortable with, but something drove him to take that chance. 

“You know, I literally just walked in here. Is there no such thing as regular security checks and drills anymore?” He raised his voice as he dropped the force cloak and stepped out into the open. 

The shock that filled the room was downright tangible as General Hux apparently rose from the dead and appeared in their midst. The sea of stormtroopers parted easily for him with no protest as their minds scrambled to make sense of what they were seeing. 

“Hux!” Finn perked up, obviously a lot happier to see him this time around. 

Phasma had frozen where she stood turned against the unfamiliar man who in turn was looking at Hux quizzically. 

“Indeed, it is me General Hux. Not so dead after all I suppose,” he drawled as he walked past Phasma and only had to make a simple gesture with his hand to make the bindings around Finn and his companion’s wrists spring open and let them loose. A shocked murmur went through the mass of troopers. 

“I did not die at Starkiller base, and I was never missing in action. I left on my own volition as the First Order was never my true allegiance, that has always been the resistance and the new Jedi order under the tutelage of Master Skywalker. My allegiance to you, my people, have always been true however, but did not come from any sort of First Order doctrine. The Order would see you used and thrown away, but those who have ever served under me knows that is not how I operated.” He could feel Finn and his companion rising to their feet cautiously behind him, vary of the tension in the room. 

“I think you see this especially well, Captain Phasma.” Hux waited till she finally turned her head towards him and really looked at him. 

“What are you trying, Hux?” It was odd to hear her normally commanding voice so quiet. 

“I said back on the Starkiller that I would understand if you wished to put a blaster shot between my eyes. But I will freely admit that I would much rather have my friend back with me,” he said with sincerity. 

There was a loaded silence that stretched into the uncomfortable. The unfamiliar man’s eyes darted between the supposed to be dead General and his former Captain.   
Then Phasma managed to surprise him yet again. 

Her helmet released with a low hiss before it was tossed to the floor without ceremony. He always managed to forget just how intense her eyes could be on account of seeing them so rarely. Now he found himself under their scrutiny at full force though. 

“I still reserve the right to punch you,” she huffed and Hux knew his risk had been worth it. 

“Captain?” One of the closest stormtroopers finally piped up. 

“I am defecting, effective immediately. I mean, what is the point? We had the major core worlds in our very palms and then nothing! Nothing was done, and no end goal or vision was presented. That is not what I signed up for,” the rant, to the extent Phasma could even be said to rant, was short and precise. 

“What is happening?” Finn whispered behind him, in much the same fashion he had back on Starkiller when he had first laid eyes on no-longer-General Hux. 

“Captain!” There were several of the same scandalized gasps throughout the crowd. 

“Kark it, you are all loyal, but most of you are not fools because of that loyalty. I would rather not fight you, but I will if you will not let us pass. In fact, I’d rather you join me abandon this apathetic chaos the Order has become. If the resistance is as incompetent as they say, we’ll make our own way elsewhere,” her bark was firm and clear as it rung out over the crowd. 

“The resistance would welcome you, and they would also not imprison you and keep you against your will. Your will would for once matter, let you become the people and individuals you were always meant to be.” Hux stepped up so he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Phasma, facing the crowd who in turn watched them with rapt attention. 

“What say you troopers?” Phasma called out, voice back to her usual commanding hues.   
Several of the troopers straightened “We’ll follow your lead, Captain!” 

It was like the ripple effect went through the troopers after that. They all stood at attention and gave a short vow of allegiance to Phasma. Hux wasn’t as naïve to believe they all really felt like defecting, or that all of them really understood what was happening or would happen. The resistance would have to do their best to help them out of their conditioning or let them go. They’d have to be careful with the defecting troopers, especially in the beginning. But if Hux was being cynical, he didn’t believe the First Order would let a previously defected trooper live long enough to spill any secrets beyond the most basic of information. 

“If we have reached a consensus, prepare to leave the Supremacy,” Hux began and felt himself naturally slip back into the pattern of command with Phasma. 

“The resistance is sending escape shuttles to the planet Crait, they will surely need assistance. It will be our joining offer to help them as the order will likely follow them planetside,” Phasma continued. Hux was a little surprised to hear that the resistance planned to abandon their ships but did not let it show. 

“Your approach will take some time as you need to avoid being shot out of the sky before reaching them. Also, someone stop that weasel of a man trying to slip away with a fraction of his… payment, was it?” Hux glanced in the unfamiliar man’s direction and saw him freeze in his pathetic escape attempt. 

“He offered to help us, just to sell us out later,” Finn added, voice only a little shaky from the situation. 

“An opportunist? How drab,” Hux drawled as a stormtrooper dragged them man back. 

“Restrain him, if he’s left behind or brought along will be FN-2187’s choice,” Phasma concluded.

“It’s Finn now, and I say we put him through the nearest garbage chute. It’s where he belongs,” Finn sneered and Hux was rather impressed. 

“If there is time, Phasma I trust you to sort everything out here. Try and get some TIE-Fighters along for the ride.” He turned back to the Captain again. 

“And where will you be going?” She arched a brow.

“I need to have a chat with Kylo Ren, but I will be joining you shortly,” he hid the details of Rey’s presence on the Supremacy. It wasn’t information that was relevant to Phasma, and it would likely drive Finn to distraction when he really needed to focus. He turned to the former stormtrooper and his bewildered companion.

“Either of you know how to fly an X-wing?” 

The woman raised her hand slowly. “Not ace pilot level or anything, but I know how to fly,” she added, obviously put off balance by the absurdity of the situation she was currently in. Hux was rather impressed by how she rose to the challenge despite that. 

“Excellent, in the twin hangar to this one is Luke Skywalker’s old X-wing. I’d rather like to see it back with the resistance if you would be so kind?”  
She gaped at him.

“Wait, how are you getting back?” Finn broke in.

“Considering I am facing Kylo Ren I will likely need to make a hasty exit. I’ll have to go to the nearest hangar and make do with what I find,” Hux reasoned. 

“Why would you voluntarily seek out that guy?” Finn furrowed his brow.

“Jedi business, I’ll explain later,” he attempted to dismiss the conversation, but Finn wasn’t having it.

“And where is Rey in all of this?” He demanded.

“Seeking out Kylo Ren before me, I’m the one trying to keep her from getting killed. Can I go now?” He saw no point in dragging this out. He’d knock Finn out and have Phasma drag him into one of the trooper transports if he had to. 

“What the hell are you waiting for?” People were just all about surprising him today it seemed. He gave Finn an impressed look before he gave a brief nod and turned to leave.

“And Hux, good luck.”

“You as well Finn.”

It had been some time since he was on the Supremacy last, but Hux still recalled how to get to Snoke’s audience chamber. With the help of M1-LY’s scomp-link and Hux having programmed her to be particularly ruthless with her slicing of First Order codes, no door could stop them. The halls of the ship were oddly deserted. Hux supposed that between the commotion in the hangar bay, and The Supremacy being in an active combat status it made a sort of sense. He wasn’t complaining though as it made it much easier to move about. 

He finally found the lift that would take him to the ghoul’s chambers, and he wasted no time overriding the lift. 

“I want you to be careful up there, Milly. No doubt we’ll get to see some action,” Hux’s voice was grim and filled with steely resolve as he took ahold of his lightsabers and unclipped them from his belt. 

The doors of the lift parted and revealed a scene Hux wouldn’t have managed to dream up any time soon.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I am sorry for the sudden hiatus/break/dissapperance. The day I was meant to post this chapter 2 weeks ago, Norway started shutting down due to the Covid-19 outbreak. So my world turned topsy-turvy for some time. I was already incredibly anxious about the virus and was pleased my country was finally taking action, but it has taken some time to get used to it all. Including the stress that comes with the new situation (I'm at risk for developing more than mild symptoms if I catch it myself, and I have close family and friends who are in high risk groups). This has all put my motivation and muse on the back burner, but once I logged onto AO3 I went over your comments (even some new ones <3) and it truly brought back some fire to my muse! So thank you so much for that!
> 
> I cannot promise that my updates will be as regular, but I will try! I hope you will continue to enjoy this story. Feel free to interact with me, tell me what you think about the story and its development, its characters or even just anything on your mind either here or on tumblr (Venetumdrabbler).  
> Stay safe and take care of yourself and yours <3

Snoke’s face was frozen in a shocked grimace. Going through his middle sideways was Anakin’s Skywalker’s blue blade. 

“You think you can end me…ungrateful whelp?” The ghoul hissed, at none other than Kylo Ren who stood with his back to Hux. 

“You’re no longer needed,” was Ren’s apathetic reply. To his side Rey fell out of a force hold and crashed to the floor with a small groan. She seemed otherwise unharmed, at least physically.

Snoke’s upper body crashed forward and fell off the ghoul’s pretentious throne. As it hit the floor with a low thump the room became alight with activity. From every corner of the room the elite praetorian guard made themselves known.

“Rey!” Hux yelled to get her attention and her head snapped towards him instantly. He threw his green saber to her and thanked his lucky stars that she managed to catch it as she gathered her feet under herself. She met one of the guards in a parry just in time with a heavy grunt.  
Ren had also sprung into action, charging two guards as they made for him. For the moment Hux supposed they were allies as he too activated his purple saber and went to join the fray. 

“Don’t do anything stupid, Rey. Stick to basics!” He sounded a little frantic, this was way beyond Rey’s current level. It needed to end sooner rather than later.  
Rey didn’t manage to reply as another guard sought her out. Hux was distracted himself by a third guard with an electro staff. He ducked just in time to avoid a wide blow as Milly screeched obscenities at the praetorian guard. 

“Language,” Hux chided as he swept low, parting the guard’s leg from the rest of him. He swept down putting the guard out of his misery. He was just about to turn back to Rey when something wrapped around him, looking down he found a whip cord securely binding him. 

“Milly, jump!” he managed to shout before the elctro whip was switched on. He had a short moment of intense relief as he felt Milly leaving his shoulder quickly, before it was replaced by searing agony. He clenched his teeth and refused to scream, however. He let the pain anger him, reaching out around him with the pain and anger, pushing force electricity right back through the whip. 

He could feel how his own energy ran along the active currents, forcing them back. There was a bang as the whip’s core overloaded from the backslash, letting electricity from the whip rush through its handler instead. The guard certainly didn’t manage to keep his scream on the inside.  
Hux managed to free himself from the infernal whip and called his lightsaber back to his hand. He rushed the still shaking whip wielding guard and slashed his saber through his unguarded middle. He didn’t get time to breathe though as he could hear Rey struggling somewhere to his right. 

She was in a saber-lock with a viroblade wielding guard. Said blade was sliding ever lower towards her hands. He was about to yell at her to push him off and readying to aid her with a force push, when Rey made a grievous mistake.  
She dropped her saber. Without a second saber to keep the lock in place. Hux’s breath stopped in his chest as he watched the live saber fall.  
He didn’t get time to blink either before the guard had his blade buried in Rey’s leg just as she made to pull away and elaborate on her little stunt.  
Rey cried out in agony and fell to the ground, hand going towards the lightsaber to regain a means of defense. The guard was quick though, slicing his blade down on the lightsaber. It sparked and crackled as it was rendered useless by the blow. 

It gave Hux the time he needed to get back into action though, pushing out with the force and flinging the guard away just as Ren reappeared to slice the guard in half as he flew. Hux hurried to Rey as she clutched shakily at her wounded leg. The viroblade had cut deep into the leg, just above the knee. He didn’t have time to further assess the damage, but knew viroblades with plasma-filaments acted almost like lightsabers. Their damage was hard to reveres unless one was skilled in force healing or received medical aid swiftly. He had seen it first hand during his brief service on active front lines on the ground in The First Order.

Hux was not skilled enough to repair this kind of damage on the fly, he could only ease her discomfort for now. It would increase again soon enough however if they didn’t get her medical aid soon.  
In his rush to aid Rey however, he failed to take stock of the room. As Rey’s quiet whimpers became heavy breathing instead though, he noticed the quiet and looked up. His breath was almost stolen a second time. 

Kylo Ren stare down at them, his blood red saber still ignited at his side. 

“Disappointing, but to be expected I suppose,” he commented casually as his eyes swept over to Rey. “Still, not something that cannot be fixed with time and proper dedication,” he added. 

“Dedication to the dark side, I presume,” Hux said darkly, not moving away from Rey’s side but also not taking his eyes off of Ren. 

“Never!” Rey gritted out through clenched teeth. 

“You saw what we can achieve together Rey, imagine, by my side we could rule the galaxy. Bring it the order it deserves.” Ren’s eyes had taken on a manic sheen. A rush from killing his master, Hux had no doubt. 

“You could be great….” Rey swallowed “If you only came back,” she managed to grit out and Hux admired her sheer inner strength and willpower. 

“I would not weaken myself in that way!” Ren snapped back.  
Hux slowly helped Rey stand up, letting her lean heavily on him. Yet he kept his eyes on Ren.

“If you have something to say, _Hux_ , get to it!” the other man growled at him. Ren rejected Armitage, just as Hux rejected Kylo Ren. It brought an odd sense of peace to him. 

“I don’t owe you anything, Ben,” He bit out and got to see the other’s eyes widen just before the world exploded into light and sound. 

*  
He had no idea how long he had been out for when he came to at Milly’s insistent nudges to his arm. The throne room was in shambles and several ship systems had caught fire. Something must have hit The Supremacy, and hit the ship hard. He had fallen next to Rey who was currently groaning as she came to as well. Hux pushed away from the floor and took in more of the room as Milly hurried to climb back onto his shoulder and latch onto him as if she was afraid he’d vanish if she let go. Ahead of him he could see Ren’s prone form. 

He needed to act on this window of opportunity. He scrambled to his feet and hefted Rey to hers, who to her credit only made small pained sounds as she was made to stand. 

“We need to hurry,” Hux insisted quietly and helped her limp back towards the lift that was built to withstand almost any kind of shock and operated on its own integrated systems instead of a ship wide one. It was still a relief to find it functioning though.

“In my pocket, there is a beacon that will signal Chewie to approach,” Rey said haltingly, patting her hand down on her side before retrieving the dormant beacon.

“Good, saves us the trouble of finding a craft that would fit us both and be at least somewhat comfortable for you.” Hux nodded as she activated the beacon. If the shields on The Supremacy wasn’t blown to pieces already, deactivating the hangar shields wouldn’t be a problem. Hux didn’t think he’d have to slice anything though as he and Rey exited the lift and took in the carnage.

The entire ship was falling apart, with every alarm system available blearing off as they tore towards the closest hangar. No trooper or officer paid them any mind as they frantically milled about, the lack of immediate leadership making itself known. Hux wasn’t willing to slow down though, Ren could come to and give chase at any moment. And with no one else to lead, there was nothing stopping Ren from claiming the Supreme Leader title.

Rey bore their hurried pace valiantly, her labored breath the only outward sign that she was in pain. Beads of sweat was running down her forehead though, and Hux knew it wouldn’t be long until he’d have to carry her to get out. Fortunately, they managed to slip into the hangar without incident and Chewie didn’t take long honing in on their location and landing easily in the middle of the hangar.  
Mindful of Rey’s injured leg, Hux then hefted her up into his arms and rushed towards the opening landing pad. He had felt a stirring in the force, and had no doubt Ren was up and about and ready to seek them out once more. 

“Get us out of here, Chewbacca!” He yelled as he entered the ship, doors closing behind him. He laid Rey down onto one of the built-in benches before turning to seek out a med kit or any kind of supplies he could use. 

“The damage will be too much for me to do anything about, you were damned lucky it wasn’t a lightsaber… although a viroblade with plasma-filaments wasn’t much better,” he muttered, mostly to himself, as he searched for the med kit. 

“Hux I…thank you for coming after me. You were right, after all…” Rey’s voice was so quiet, and so dejected it near broke Hux’s heart. He knelt beside her prone form.

“No Rey, I was wrong and I should have been there with you from the beginning. You were right to question our absolutist mindset. You shook Ren’s belief enough to get him to turn on his master. And perhaps it was wrong of us to run like this when he was still wavering,” Hux paused, meeting her gaze.

“No, you heard him. He wants to rule the galaxy,” Rey said bitterly. 

“I heard him, but only time will tell. And in the meantime, we’ll counter Kylo Ren at all turns he attempts. You’ve shaken him, Rey. Take pride in that, let yourself heal and resume training with me. So that next time, you will be properly prepared.”

“Yeah, no more running off halfcocked.” She grimaced and glanced down at her mangled leg.  
There really was little Hux could do for Rey and her leg. He found some bacta-patches and bandages, they wouldn’t do much beyond cleaning her wounds and keep infection out. He also feared the resistance wouldn’t have much equipment on hand with the devastation of their fleet. There was a fair chance Rey would lose the leg, if she was lucky it could perhaps be repaired with biomechanical grafts instead of having to replace it entirely with a prosthetic. He kept his field opinion to himself for now though, and squeezed Rey’s shoulder comfortingly before getting up. 

He left Milly with Rey and went to the cockpit. Chewbacca was approaching the planet Crait swiftly. 

“Do we have the rebels’ location?” He sat down in the co-pilot seat. 

Chewie pointed to one of the message screens instead of answering. On it was a recent call for aid made by the resistance, giving their location and situation. Hux doubted anyone would come as The First order and their allies had made an impression on the galaxy. First with the destructive force of The Starkiller, and then their massive numbers and brutal manner as they kicked the republic to the curb. 

Hux however had allies he was fairly certain would answer the call, and he redirected the distress message over to Phasma’s personal frequency. It would all come down to if they made it in time or not. 

The area where the old resistance base was located was in a barren landscape, a layer of salt on the surface making it appear cold and desolate. Made disturbing by the occasional splotches of intense red. The great blast doors to the old mine the resistance used as a base were wide open, people clearly moving about in there. They were likely trying to scramble together some kind of defenses, for it was very likely that The First order’s retaliation was just around the corner.  
Chewbacca took dem down just before the blast doors as there was little space for the Falcon within. Hux once again let Rey lean on him as they made their way out of the ship. 

“Rey!” Finn’s yell was overjoyed at first, his face sank though as he saw the state his friend was in. “Rey! What happened?” He rushed over to her. 

“I was rash and unprepared. Won’t do that again.” Rey tried to make light of the situation as she let Finn pull her into a careful hug, her grimace betrayed the pain she was in though. 

“Armitage, you made it!” Hux looked over and saw Leia approaching, slowed down some by a cane she was using.

“General, what happened?” He stepped past Rey and Finn, meeting Leia halfway. 

“The First Order managed to blast through to our bridge, if Han hadn’t been there I would likely not be here right now,” she sighed. “I took some damage though, was out for a while as the resistance struggled to last long enough to get here.” He expression was grim.

“How did they manage to dog you for so long? Was the hyperdrive damaged in the initial attack?” Hux looked over to Dameron who had also approached.

“No, but the order tracked us through hyperspeed. Just how much new and freaking terrifying technology does the First Order have?” Poe was almost accusing in his tone.

“Hyperspeed tracking? I’ve never heard of such a thing. There are long distance trackers of course, but I assume you checked if you had been tagged.” He furrowed his brows, wracking his brain for anything about this supposed new technology.

“Poe…” Leia’s voice was low, dangerous and Hux looked up surprised to see Poe Dameron of all people lose color. “Did you check for tags after I was out of commission?” 

“I… n-no General. That’s so old-school and used though-“

“Yes, because it works if your opponent has a tendency towards being oblivious or overly arrogant,” Hux bit in.

“We don’t have time to point fingers now, but rest assured if we get out of this alive I will personally hold a lecture on basic recon tactics,” Lei’s sigh was exasperated.

“Also, to be fair, the tag-technology the First Order had when I left was newly developed, very hard to pin down if you didn’t know its access sequence or have the scanner it belonged to. Specialized scanner and tag pairs, costly to make but very effective as they just managed to prove.” Hux’s words seem to offer some comfort to Poe at least. 

“In any case, the General is right. The First Order is no doubt in-bound. I hope you have a plan.” Normally Hux would be certain Leia was atop of things. Right now though, still injured and having only recently been brought back in action he wasn’t all that sure.

“The equipment here is ancient, we wouldn’t really stand a chance. The ships we have are escape shuttles and are of little use in a battle situation. We have Luke’s old X-wing, Rose tells me that’s how you made it to The Supremacy.” She arched a brow at him.

“Ah, Rey left me with Luke for a bit. There was… tension. A lot of soul searching and eventually a reach for reconciliation.”

“I must admit, I was hoping he’d come…” Leia looked down, hardening her features as to not appear distressed when her people needed her strong. 

“Master Luke will come, once we get off this rock we will go and get him,” Hux reassured her. 

“Speaking of getting off this rock, why don’t we just pile on into the Falcon?” Poe interrupted. 

“The First Order is too close, we’d be sitting ducks as we load onto the ship. I believe help will come however, we just need t hold on long enough for it to get here,” Hux said with confidence.

“How can you be so sure?” Poe blinked at him.

“I extended your distress call to some friends of mine, but General I have a suggestion.” He turned back to Leia who gestured at him to continue. 

“I suggest letting the Falcon back into the air but with someone manning its guns. This way the Falcon can draw TIE-fighter fire away from ground forces.”

“Good idea, Han can join Chewie. He’s still a damned good shot, I’ll admit as much,” she said with a fond smile.

“I also suggest sending Finn, he has proven himself quite skilled in the gunner position. Also, Mr. Dameron, you would do more good strapped into Skywalker’s old X-wing. Its weapons are online, and I can quickly tweak the astromech perch to fit your BB-unit.” He turned towards the pilot who was gaping at him.

“Me? In that legend?”

“You are the best pilot in the resistance, aren’t you?” Hux asked with a hint of amusement.

“Yes, he is. Poe, go find Han and inform him of the developments,” Leia ordered and watched as Poe wasted no time with his task. 

“Rey is gravely injured, her leg took a blow from a viroblade with plasma-filaments. She needs to stay on the ground, someone will likely have to sit on her anyway though.” He cast a glance at Rey who was speaking softly to Finn. 

“I will take care of her myself, I must admit Armitage… You are bringing me some much needed hope in what has to be one of the darkest hours in Resistance history.” Leia looked at him with her honest, brown eyes. 

“Your brother hasn’t lost his guiding touch quite yet it would seem.” Hux dared a small smile before getting to work.


	13. Chapter 13

It was a rush against time to get everything prepared before the First Order descended on them. Hux did the adjustments to Luke’s old X-wing with some decent help from Milly who was learning at an exceptionally fast rate. Besides having an energy core that needed charging at regular intervals she was a perfect little companion. Now she was sitting on a disgruntled Rey’s lap as they watched both the Falcon and Luke’s X-wing take off before the blast doors were firmly shut. Effectively shielding the Resistance from most common attacks. If an AT-AT got close enough though, the doors wouldn’t last for very long. 

Hux was currently sitting in a meditative pose in one of the quieter corners of the base. He could sense Kylo Ren approaching, sensed his seething anger towards himself and Rey, and the Resistance. How dare they turn the tables on the First Order in the moment of Ren’s triumph. Hux felt relief over the fact that the Knights of Ren were still away in the darker corners of the galaxy on Snoke’s orders. Had the knights been present, Hux doubted they would have made it out of this alive. Going up against seven force sensitives on his own was not odds Hux would willingly take. 

“They’re here!” Hux let the words register, but did not stir from his position or open his eyes.   
There was another presence in the force, also approaching but not in the same tangible manner Kylo Ren was. Hux reached out to it, held out his hand within his mind and pulled the presence closer. 

“You’re very perceptive, Hux. Even more so than before,” a familiar voice spoke as the presence materialized next to him. 

“And I see you couldn’t stay away after all, Master Skywalker.” Hux looked up at his Master, appearing as a physical manifestation. He looked tangible enough to touch, but Hux knew his hand would go straight through. 

“No, I couldn’t,” Luke agreed quietly before they were interrupted.

“Luke!” It was Leia who hurried over to them as Hux stood up. The General didn’t touch her brother though, as she too could sense he wasn’t truly with them. 

“Leia, it is so good to see you again.” Luke’s eyes soften and a fond smile made its way to his lips.

“And you, but why did you have to stay away for so long fool brother,” Leia huffed but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. 

“Did you get to Rey in time?” Luke once again looked at his student.

“I did, she sustained some injury to her leg. We don’t know if it can be saved or not yet, but she is alive and safe. For now,” Hux summed up swiftly. 

“At least she is still with us,” Luke sighed as he looked over to Rey who had yet to notice them as she was chattering with Milly. 

“Kylo Ren killed Snoke. However, in the aftermath of it all I believe he has taken on the mantle as Supreme Leader. He asked Rey to join him in ruling the galaxy.” The admission stung, it felt like another failure to be added to the growing pile. 

“Don’t be so quick to abandon all hope yet again, Armitage. Snoke has had years to shape the image of Kylo Ren,” Luke said sagely, but to his side Leia shook her head.

“I shouldn’t have pushed towards this, in my heart I know that my son is dead and gone and has been for quite a while,” there was a gentle tremble in her voice, only a fraction of what she had to be feeling. 

“No one we love is ever truly lost to us, even if they go beyond where we are able to follow,” Luke continued, putting his hand on her shoulder and managing to make it appear as if he truly was touching her. She looked at her brother with eyes shimmering with unshed tears, but gave the smallest of nods. 

A series of bangs thundered through the base as canon fire from the AT-ATs reached the blast doors. The noise that followed was infernal as the AT-ATs canons kept up the firing, aiming to blow a hole big enough for ground troops no doubt.   
Luke turned to look at Hux instead of watching the doors with the rest of the base. 

“Well then, Armitage, are you ready to walk out there with your lightsaber and face down the First Order?” his Master actually had the audacity to smirk.

“I don’t think they’ll be very receptive to our space magic and become good little republicans,” Hux threw back drily, parroting Luke’s words from when he had reunited with Hux and met Rey for the first time. 

“Probably not from a Master and his Padawan, but I am sure we can make a dent as Master and Jedi Knight.” Luke’s eyes were practically glittering with gentle mischief, but also that trademark honesty he was so well known for. 

“What?” Hux’s mind had halted at the implication.

“It is high time, wouldn’t you say? I observed you at Ahch-To, despite having been undercover for so long, you have kept your skills. And after our talk, I feel your convictions have never been stronger. I don’t feel there are anyone more deserving than you right now,” Luke said in earnest. 

“But-“

“Do you feel you have understood your place in the universe more, Armitage, after our talk?”

“Yes, but-“

“And did you not manage to follow and aid the person who is just as much your student as she is mine?”

“Yes,” Hux saw no point in arguing further, for he did feel he knew his place better than ever before. 

“And did you not, once again, stand up to Kylo Ren and reject what he offered?”

“I did.” Technically Hux hadn’t been offered anything, but knew with all his heart that he would never have accepted if the proposal had been to him instead of Rey. 

“Then kneel.” Even with the canon fire hammering on the doors, Luke’s voice carried around base. Hux felt eyes on him, and didn’t need to look up to see that the resistance was looking. For just this moment, time stood still for them as Hux knelt down and Luke ignited his green saber. 

“We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed," Luke began with the ancient words of the Jedi, likely one of the few things from the old ceremonies he had kept. He lowered his sword so it hovered just above Hux’s shoulder. 

“By my right as Jedi Master, and the will of the force, Armitage Kenobi Hux. Rise, Jedi Knight of the Grey,” the words were said with such gravitas, and they washed over Hux. It felt as if the force itself recognized Luke’s words and flowed through Hux as he rose steadily.   
The hush that had fallen over the base slowly abated, revealing once again the canon fire that had already hacked through parts of the blast doors. 

“General! Someone’s answered our call! Someone is on their way,” A comms operator had hurried over to them once the silence had vanished completely. 

“Who comes to our aid?” Leia spoke sharply. 

“Someone named Phasma, Ma’am.” The operator clearly had no idea who this was. 

“First Order deserter, and my friend,” Hux explained and got Leia’s full attention once again. 

“A deserter?”

“Several, unless someone bailed. On their way with transporter ships and TIE-Fighters. I wasn’t sure they had gotten my message.” Hux couldn’t help the smile making it to his lips. 

“Then our mission seems clear, keep the Order at bay until aid can get here.” Luke nodded.

“Saved by First Order deserters, this has to be one of the stranger days in my life,” Leia sighed but did not object. 

“Keep everyone safe, sister. Look for an alternate route out if you can. Armitage and I will do our best to distract the Order, keep them at bay.” Luke glanced at Hux who gave an affirming nod. 

“Understood, may the force be with you both.”

“And with you, Leia.” Luke offered a reassuring smile which Leia replied to in kind before putting the base to work once more. Hux looked over to Rey and saw her watching him with widened eyes. 

_”We will be back, help the resistance how you can. May the force be with you, Rey.”_ He saw that the message was received as Rey too nodded, slowly while swallowing heavily. 

Hux then turned towards the sizable hole that had formed in the doors. The fire had stopped for now, and no doubt the Order was moving closer. 

“Please don’t overtax yourself Master, if you exhaust yourself to the point of no return, I will be extremely cross with you,” Hux said matter-of-factly while taking hold of his lone saber firmly. 

“I plan to stick around for what happens after this. Have no fear of that,” Luke replied easily as the approached the rapidly cooling hole in the door. 

When the pair made it out from the base, the salt dust had mostly cleared and thus revealing their entrance on the battlefield. The AT-ATs advance halted at once as their operators saw just who it was who had stepped out of the crumbling rebel base. Hux had his hood down and his head held high for all to see. His red hair practically blazed in the harsh light on Crait. 

He could practically feel how Ren’s anger boiled in his ship that hovered just behind the AT-ATs. 

“He will order them to shoot us down,” Luke warned. 

“I can hold a decent shield,” Hux said with confidence. He knew he could, though if all of them fired at once he wouldn’t last very long. 

It didn’t appear as if all the AT-ATs were prepared to fire though, as only two of the five approaching AT-ATs moved their guns on their position. It was likely more shock than anything else that had the other three hesitant. 

Hux closed his eyes, let himself over to the force as he began preparing the shield within his mind.

_”FIRE!”_

The second the blasts approached Hux had his hands out, blocking their trajectory as they tried to reach them. He didn’t bother extending it to Luke who was an apparition after all and didn’t need protection from the physical.   
With renewed belief and vigor Hux held steady, even as a third AT-AT opened fire on them. He could feel pearls of sweat starting to trickle down his forehead, but willed himself to ignore the strain at the massive undertaking. 

The fire from the AT-ATs kicked up all the surrounding salt, hiding them within a thick cloud of white and red. It stung Hux’s eyes and burned in his nose, and even so he held steady as the fire finally died down to nothing. 

He slowly lowered his arms after wiping at his brow, exhaling slowly through dried lips. Neither he nor Luke said anything else as the breeze slowly shifted the dust cloud away from them. Luke brushed off imaginary dust from his shoulder as if to mock Ren up in his ship.

Is that really all you’ve got?

None of the AT-ATs moved to fire again, a silent awe hanging onto the wind that whipped passed the tangible anger in the air. 

“I am nearing my limit, Armitage. If Ren comes down, you face him alone.” Luke did not take his eyes off of the ship.

“I am ready,” there was no doubt in his words, only conviction.   
They both watched as Ren’s ship landed in front of the AT-ATs, its landing ramp lowering to reveal Kylo Ren. His dark persona was in stark contrast to the white and red of the planet. He truly did appear as a phantom menace. 

“This finally gets to end, old man, right here and now!” Kylo bellowed at them, his words directed at Luke. He came to a halt just within sprinting distance, glowering at them both. 

“I failed you Ben, and that is something I will always regret and seek atonement for. I am well and truly sorry for letting Snoke get to you, for doubting you and not being able to help. But you still have a choice, there is always a choice. My father chose it, and Anakin Skywalker returned to the galaxy. There is no doubt in my heart that you can manage the same feat, nephew,” Luke’s voice was gentle even as his message rang with intensity. 

“Your words mean nothing to me! And I shall take great joy in wiping your existence from the galaxy,” Kylo Ren growled in return. Luke however ignored him and turned to Hux.

“May the force be with you, Armitage. I believe in you, never doubt that,” Luke said gently as his image faded from Crait, returning to its physical body on Ahch-To.   
Ren betrayed his surprise by staring at the spot where Luke had just stood. 

“Thank you, Master Skywalker,” Hux replied out into the empty air as he ignited his lightsaber, locking his eyes on Ren. “Sorry, but you’ll only be dancing with me today.”

Ren narrowed his eyes at him, igniting his own sword with its bleeding crystal.   
“Today you die, Hux,” Ren spat out at him.

“No, today is the day I was remade.”


	14. Chapter 14

Ren made the first move, his saber held high as he rushed Hux who dodged instead of parrying. Let Ren burn of some of the brute force in his anger if possible. Hux spun around before diving into a roll as Ren rounded on him again. 

“Face me properly, you coward!” Ren sneered as Hux dodged yet another attack.   
He only smirked as he brought his saber up into a high parry stance, inviting Ren to rush him once more. As anticipated Ren charged low, Hux released the built-up force at his soles and summersaulted right over him, close enough to catch a whiff of his scent. 

“If you are quite finished charging at me like a crazed bantha, perhaps I will face you properly,” Hux mocked, and Ren’s rumored growing maturity seemed to all but evaporate as he screamed at Hux before charging again.   
This time Hux met the blade with his own, pushing it back and going in for another strike. He set a punishing pace, forcing Ren onto the defensive. He wanted to make it very clear to Ren that he wasn’t just another opponent that he could ram down with a single blow. Ren was facing a Jedi Knight, Hux was going to make damn sure he fought like it as well. 

Ren recovered from a slight stagger and finally positioned himself in a proper fighting stance instead of his regular beat down tactic.   
They stared each other down for several, drawn out moments. Hux’s eyes searching Ren’s, looking for even just a hint of Ben Solo. He could still smell the salt in the air, but all else besides the two of them squaring off went ignored. If Ren as much as twitched, Hux would notice. 

“It’s rather impressive just how two faced you can be, General,” Ren broke the tense silence between them with a mocking tone for his former title. “Do the resistance know the extent of your crimes as the First Order’s most promising young General?” 

“It’s adorable how you are trying to apply mind games to me, Ren. It hasn’t even been a standard month since I last saw you kicking and screaming like a spoiled child who did not get their way,” Hux snorted as he began circling in time with Ren’s first step to his left. 

“So arrogant, thinking back I recall that you were rather arrogant even as a student under Luke,” Ren continued steadily, although his lip did twitch towards a scowl at Hux’s words. 

“My arrogance is a front and a cloak, that you fail to recognize it as such speaks poorly of your sense of deduction.” Hux swept forward, meeting Ren’s blade in several blows before locking into one with him. 

Close enough to feel each other’s breaths Ren narrowed his eyes into a glare. 

“Why did you do it though, why work your way up so meticulously in the First Order in the first place? Forced by my mother? Or due to your own lingering affections perhaps?” Ren sneered again and Hux did feel his temper flare up, but not in a manner that was beyond his control.

“General Organa is not your mother, Ren,” Hux bit back before pushing the other off by adding a push of the force to his own weight. He jumped away from Ren’s chopping blade and met his gaze again as he landed. 

“And I have never loved you,” he said it quietly even as he brough his saber up, crossing it in front of his chest. 

Ren’s face darkened greatly and only a guttural roar came from his lips as he once again charged him. Hux met the blow with a harsh strike of his own, Ren refused to let up his attacks though. They were hard and mostly uncontrolled as he appeared to beat down at Hux. They were easy enough to parry, but quickly grew tiring.   
He felt the force rush to him at his command, pushing Ren away almost before he could motion with his hand. Ren did not go flying like last time, instead he pushed back with all his might, leaning into it as if his weight would help him stay grounded. 

“I’ve only ever loved Ben Solo Organa, and you can be damned sure I will never forgive you for taking him away from me,” Hux could feel how his own voice gained a growling quality as energy crackled around him. Small bursts of electricity manifested around him and it was all the warning Ren got before Hux showered furious lightning over him. 

He could feel how Ren gave up the pushing as he focused on protecting himself from the burning bolts.   
When the lightning finally died down, he could see the shimmer of the force barrier Ren had put up as the man got back up to his feet. 

“And how does a Jedi justify such dark skills?” Ren refused to acknowledge his verbal outburst, taking a few more steps back. Not in fear or awe, but to end this standoff sooner rather than later. 

“Whoever said a Jedi must only be of the light. Grey suits me much more, don’t you think?” Hux huffed, keeping his sword up. He had no way of knowing if he could muster enough power to shield against AT-AT canon fire again after the drain he just did with the lightning. It would seem Ren had the same idea. 

“I always preferred you in black,” Ren almost quipped before his hand shot up to signal the AT-ATs behind him.   
Hux only had time to brace before the sound of canon fire roared in his ears. He wouldn’t be able to hold it, his eyes shut in an attempt to amp up concentration. 

There was, however, a lack of the actual canon fire. 

Frowning he opened his eyes again and half expected Ren to have started charging him and it had all really been a genius strategic move to let him get close. Instead he was met by the glorious sight of TIE-fighters and First Order Troop transports decimating the bewildered AT-ATs. 

“Phasma,” he breathed to himself, a sense of relief washing through him. 

“What?!” Ren barked as he too stared up at the commotion.   
One of the transports, a modified one Hux recognized as Phasma’s preferred vessel, broke off from formation and went low. Its guns fired at Ren’s position, forcing the dark knight to draw back while countering. The doors to the vessel opened as it came to a hovering stillness close to Hux, Phasma appearing in the opening. 

“Time to leave, the resistance is secure.” Phasma wasted no words, so Hux wasted no time either. He rushed over and jumped up, letting Phasma grab hold of his forearm and help him up as the vessel started taking off again. 

Ren was clearly making for his ship when the Millennium Falcon joined the fray with a well-placed shot at its wing, forcing it to stay grounded or risk a perilous and unsteady flight. Hux knew Finn was a better shot than that, but he also knew Han Solo would have given strict orders to let his son live.   
The doors closed behind him, his last view of Crait being Ren screaming at the sky as the traitorous First Order Crafts along with the Falcon took off.

*  
The resistance had sustained heavy losses. Most of their fleet was gone, a large portion of resistance command was either dead or gravely injured. And even though the First Order Fleet had clearly been done a number upon, Hux knew this was just a fraction of their available power. The loss of Snoke would not really hamper them in any significant way, as Ren had stepped up the moment Snoke drew his last breath. It would make the order less predictable for a while though, depending on just how much Ren would try and control it all by himself. Despite evidence to the contrary from time to time, Ren wasn’t stupid. He had some strategic training, and although he rarely employed it Hux didn’t doubt that he would look to the senior members of the order. 

He had hopes that Ren’s reaction-based tactics would carry over to the running of the order in a larger scale though. It would make planning missions and operations a little less taxing.   
He turned away from the viewing panel as he felt Phasma approach.

“Going to punch me now?” he said with a small smirk playing around his lips.

“After I saw that display with Ren down on Crait? Yeah, right,” she huffed and stopped next to him, looking out through the simulated window at the wrecked Supremacy. 

“I did say you could, I don’t really go back on my word unless it was made to an enemy while undercover.” He turned as well and continued watching the wreck. 

“Appreciate it Hux, the sentiment especially. I shall save my punch for later though, keep it in the bank.”  
Hux only snorted in reply as they left the wreck behind.

“General Organa asked us to ship them to Mon Cala, she has a contact there that could aid them with their current lack of starships,” Phasma said as she went into an automatic parade’s rest. 

“Makes sense, the Mon Calamari supplied the resistance before. Back when they were the Rebel alliance. She must have kept contacts there, and the Mon Calamari has a history of opposing forces like the First Order.” Hux crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Do you think Lord Ren is aware?”

“Of the connection, certainly. Perhaps not that his mother plan to go there now though,” Hux said easily, making a note of how well Phasma hid her surprise. 

“Ren is the General’s son?” She kept her voice even. 

“Yes, corrupted to the dark side by Snoke. I wish to be nothing but honest with you Phasma, but I ask you not share this with the troopers.” He looked at her profile.

“Noted, I am also happy to note I have newfound respect for the woman.” Phasma glanced at him in turn.

“Is that so?”

“She ordered us to shoot at Ren if you needed assistance in getting away. She is clearly not hindered by sentimentality. I am more prepared to follow her now that I know, if you think that is still a possibility. Most resistance members tried to pile onto the Millennium Falcon as it landed with us, I don’t think they are too keen on us Hux.” Her brows creased with gentle worry.

“They were taken by surprise, I have no doubt they will see reason though. The only ones to answer their call for aid were, after all, you and your men. I will remind them of this, and of Finn. You might not be allowed to wander about freely to begin with, but you will be treated fairly and well. You have my word.” He turned fully towards her. 

“That is more than enough for me.”

After a small pit stop at a small space station trading post, more resistance members had been sent to the First Order crafts so they could supply the required allegiance codes should the need arise. Hux had moved onto the Falcon to have a few words with General Organa, as well as check up on Rey. 

“Armitage, it’s good to see you in one piece. I haven’t heard anything from Luke, is he alright?” The General found him first.

“He needed to retreat to preserve his energy. He will be waiting for us on Ahch-To, I promised to pick him up.” He smiled as he saw Leia’s features brighten at the prospect of her brother finally returning. 

“So, he will be joining us properly, I am glad to hear it! Also, I need to thank you Armitage. Without your friends from the First Order, we would not have made it with the numbers that we did.” She took his hand between her own and gave a gentle shake. 

“I must admit I am very glad Captain Phasma decided it was worth joining me, she was the closest thing I had to a friend while undercover.”

“She’ll be wanting to join us then?” Leia arched a brow at him. 

“She had become disillusioned with the First Order, I felt it even before I stepped out and revealed my presence aboard the Supremacy. Even through the harsh and unfeeling layers of First Order doctrine and training, Phasma cares for her people. Also, she wasn’t trained from birth like many of the troopers were, thus she still has a much easier time with questioning her superiors if she does not agree or outright accept their orders,” Hux began his speech, but as Leia’s look grew very fond he halted.

“Seems you managed to have a positive effect on some people in the First Order after all, Armitage,” she supplied as she noticed his questioning look. 

“Some people turned out to be loyal to me first and the order second,” he tried to deflect.

“Hah, sure and why is that I wonder? All this time you were trying to show Ben the way back to the light, and although my son couldn’t see it would seem others have. I do believe, now that your real identity has been revealed, that we will see a lot more First Order deserters,” Leia concluded with such confidence that Hux felt his cheeks warm. 

“I, uh… and how will we receive those deserters, General?”

“Why with open arms Commander Hux, if they prove true in their change of heart.” She actually winked at him.

“Commander Hux?” Hux blinked.

“Yes, it was always my intention to include you into our ranks. I had half a mind to just make you general straight away, you’ve already been one after all. The rest of the resistance leaders thought you should receive the rank of lieutenant, but as most of them aren’t here I call the shots. And I want you to organize and help lead any and all First Order deserters we get.”

“Understood and thank you General. I would like to request that Phasma and Finn join me in that regard.” He met her searching eyes with his own.

“Why Finn?”

“I doubt he’s aware yet, but Finn is a leader at heart. He’s also one of the first Stormtroopers to have actively deserted the order and joined up with the resistance instead of running off to some far-off corner. Finn will be important to any and all trooper or low rank from the Order that join us. Both to show them that it is possible, and to help cast off the indoctrination of the First Order.”

“A sound argument, if Finn agrees I am all for it.” She nodded.

“Thank you, now I understand we are going to Mon Cala?”

“Yes, I have contacts there that could perhaps aid us with the acquiring of new ships. We will also find suitable and good help for Rey’s injury there,” Leia said with a short nod. 

“Where is she?”

“Inside one of the crew bedrooms, wanted to be alone. Go and speak to her, I think she needs a friend right now. As for me, I’ll have to inform my husband that he is reinstated as a general and really has no say in the matter,” she huffed as she turned towards the cockpit. 

Hux shook his head and made his way over to the crew quarters. It was easy enough to sense which door Rey was behind. He rapped at the door gently and heard a quiet ‘come in’.   
Rey was lying down on the lower bunk, M1-LY practically curled up on her chest. Both perked up as they saw Hux enter though. Milly instantly climbed up to his shoulder to almost nuzzle against him as he sat down at the edge of the bed. 

“I missed you too girl,” he chuckled and gave the tiny droid a friendly pat before looking at Rey. “How are you doing?”

“I was given some heavy-duty pain killers and some more bacta for the wound. The surviving medical officer thinks my leg can be saved thanks to your intervention. Might need an implant or two, muscle a bit singed and frayed,” she said with a grimace. 

“That’s good news though, the saved part I mean. And even if you had lost your leg, prosthetics have developed a lot you know. Luke is only doing the minimalistic look for the aesthetic I’m sure,” he chuckled and managed to make her draw up a small smile. 

“It was stupid of me to just rush off like that,” she sighed. 

“Yes, it was,” Hux agreed instantly. 

“Gee, thank you,” she drawled. 

“It was stupid, but it was also very brave. And the right thing to do in the long run. So next time, give it a little more time and we will literally pull off this saving the galaxy thing,” Hux’s words were heartfelt and Rey’s bluster came off.

“You think it was the right thing to do?” Her voice was small.

“Yes, Rey your heart is in the right place and with training and experience you will learn how to best act on your heart’s directions. You are practically hope personified, you are what the galaxy needs right now. And what I need right now,” He said firmly and had an armful of Rey before he knew it. 

“Thank you for believing in me,” she said quietly as small tears made it onto his shoulder. 

“I will always believe in you, Rey. Never doubt that,” he replied as he hugged her back. 

Rey’s destiny was still unclear. But Hux had no doubt that it would be great.  
And that the galaxy would know it before long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes the Last Jedi Arc. Up next is the gap year where this fic finally earns its mature rating.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot be the only one who found the pacing in TROS jarring. There was so much context we didn't get to know. So I decided to include the gap year in this story!   
> It spans 3 chapters so naturally there will be some time skips.

He didn’t really need to think about it as he grabbed Ben’s collar and dragged him towards him in a searing kiss. Hux let lose a gentle sigh as their lips clashed for the first time in what felt like forever. Ben’s lips were still soft, their shape pleasant against Hux’s own as he let his fingers glide through the black locks of his hair. He could feel Ben pushing against him and willingly let himself be pushed back till he hit the edge of his own bed. The fall was easy, the soft duvet embracing him and drawing him further down. He licked his lips as he watched Ben shed his tunic, baring his skin for Hux to see. 

His mouth watered and he really couldn’t get his hands on the other fast enough, reaching out for him. He gave a pleasant hum when Ben didn’t hesitate to sink over him, warm skin pressing against his own. Hux had no clue where his own shirt had gone, and he really could not care any less at this moment. Ben’s fingers slid over exposed skins, sending pleasant shivers up Hux’s spine and he smirked up at the other man as their eyes met once Ben’s fingers skirted the hem of Hux’s pants.

He rolled over, trapping Ben beneath himself before finally letting himself taste the skin of his neck. Lips dragging down from his jaw to his collarbone, making Ben gasp and writhe under him. How he had missed this taste, the feel of Ben’s skin under his lips and fingers. See and feel him move against him in a way they never had before.  
Lips found lips once more, hot and burning even brighter now. His lungs started aching with the need for air, but the thought of stopping for just a moment spurred him further.

“Oh, Ben…” Hux breathed as they broke apart in need of air. 

“That’s not my name, Hux,” Ben suddenly said, in an unfeeling and stoic manner. And the absurdity of the contrast shocked Hux awake on his cot. 

He groaned as the dream rushed back to him, staining his cheeks red. He rubbed at his face with the back of his hand, as if trying to rub the dream away from the forefront of his mind. He had lost count at just how many of these dreams, or dreams about Ben in general, he had had since his standoff with Ren on Crait. 

He swung his legs out over the cot’s edge, letting them touch the cold stone floor of his room. He’d get himself a proper bed in here one of these days. Even if he had to raid a First Order cruiser himself to get his hands on one. He stood and wandered over to the small countertop with a modest wash basin on it. Personal comforts were few and far in between in the new resistance base on Ajan Kloss, they didn’t exactly have much resources to spare and certainly not on such trifles. 

Their trip to Mon Cala had been successful, General Organa had managed to get in touch with her potential ally. Said ally turned out to be the late Admiral Ackbar’s son, who was more than willing to take his father’s place now that the First Order threatened to bring the galaxy back to the darkened state of the old Empire. 

While Organa and Ackbar arranged for the new Starships however, Hux was with Rey as she finally got her leg seen to in a proper medical facility. Finn had naturally come with, which meant Poe had also tagged along. Both Hux and Poe had watched as Finn paced nervously in the room they had been asked to wait in. The Mon Calamari had good medical droids though, they managed to save Rey’s leg through using a few implants to bridge the burnt tear after ridding the wound of all the dead tissue. Rey had decided to let the external cover for the implants be visible instead of using synthetic skin. It wouldn’t be very visible unless she wore short pants anyway, and she claimed she wanted to keep it visible as a reminder. 

They hadn’t gotten much time to rest and recuperate on Mon Cala however, as the First Order soon made it to the planet. Most likely to subjugate and hinder the famous shipbuilders in aiding the resistance. It was not a total surprise, as the First Order had already warned that it would tear down any resistance with force and no mercy. The planets of the galaxy were to either bow to the First Order and its allies, or be torn down brutally by the might of the Order’s fleet and soldiers. 

They were too late in stopping the aid to the resistance however, and thanks to the diligence of Phasma and her still loyal troopers they had managed to get away almost undetected. The last Starship, a smaller frigate, had stayed behind to keep the Order from locking in on the escaping fleet. Hux himself and several of the First Order deserters had been on board this ship and so command had naturally fallen to Hux without protest from the on-board resistance members. Even the ones who technically outranked him. 

Hux’s successful maneuvers and later wild chase through a portion of the galaxy had earned him his right to command of the ship. He had fondly named it The General which made Phasma snicker behind him. They would all make sure the First Order would learn of the ship, her commander and her name sooner rather than later. 

The Mon Cala debacle had also finally earned the First Order deserters a solid place amongst the resistance members. There was still a way to go with them all, but his planning with Phasma was finally starting to carry fruit. Both Phasma and Hux knew the indoctrination by the First Order well, both on account of having been “close” to Brendol Hux. Picking it apart was not done overnight though, so when Leia deemed it safe enough to leave the newly established base on Ajan Kloss to pick up her brother Hux opted to stay behind. Han volunteered easily to retrieve his old friend, together with Rey and Finn. Hux had told Rey to remind Luke of his promise if he proved stubborn like before, to which Rey promised to even drag their Master if she had to. 

He had no doubt Rey really would follow through, and even gleefully at that. He shook his head to himself as he finished getting ready for the day and exited his room. Only a few had raised eyebrows and comments to Hux skipping up to Commander the moment he formally joined the resistance. No one whose voice carried any weight stood against this decision however. He had General Leia’s trust, and General Han vouching for his dedication against the order. And Hux suspected his reputation from the First Order was impressive even to the resistance. 

Many also saw it as a necessity with the group of First Order deserters that followed Phasma from The Supremacy. And after the resistance received word of another First Order group that wished to join them, just a scant week after starting to settle on Ajan Kloss. Well, no one else really stepped forward to go meet with the group and assess their credibility. 

Hux had gone alone to meet with the alleged deserters, and was surprised to find a number of officers who he had once perceived as loyal to him first and the Order second. With them were a few handfuls of troopers and pilots. They seemed equally surprised to see who was meeting them, despite knowing that Hux was a deserter himself. Though Hux knew his status as a force user had also spread throughout the Order, so perhaps they suspected he had really been a double agent in it all. He knew even before the deserters started pleading their case, that they were indeed genuine. So he greeted them as old friends, for indeed many of the officers present had served under him on The Finalizer. He didn’t need force perception to tell most of them was still a bit uneasy, yet they followed him all the same as he led them back to the base. 

It quickly became very apparent that Hux still held a large portion of their loyalty, and this did in no way diminish as the former First Order officials got to know him as Commander Hux of the resistance. If anything their apprehension lingered on the fact that he was a force user, considering the only other force user they knew was Kylo Ren Hux wasn’t all that surprised. Dopheld Mitaka was especially cautious around him in the beginning, treading on eggshells and flinching whenever Hux’s voice grew stern or raised in volume. It both saddened and enraged Hux. Saddened because he didn’t want those serving with and under him to fear him, respect yes, but not fear him as if he was a tyrant or a ticking time bomb. It enraged him because it reminded him of Kylo Ren’s initial cruelty to those he didn’t deem worthy of proper acknowledgment. 

As the new batch of First Order deserters got to know him however, the real him, they visibly relaxed and started acting more freely. The very first thing they always made mention of was their surprise at the resistance different way of life and yet managing to keep tangible structure and organization. The second was usually their surprise at Hux’s real personality and how it was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. There was a time when such expressed familiarity by First Order members, former or not, would have worried Hux. Now however, he was comfortable in his place in the and took it all in stride and used the familiarity to help them in leaving behind the cruel and unyielding teachings of the Order. 

Finn had had an even bigger hand in the reformation of First Order deserters, troopers especially, than Hux and Phasma combined. Even if Finn had been protected from re-education and serious consequences for his emerging empathy, he still knew just how hard the propaganda could burrow into one’s brain. Once Finn was back from Ahch-To he always made time for his fellow former troopers, doing exercises together and talking trooper to trooper. He would then consult with Hux, bringing up problems and issues brought to him by the troopers. They opened up to Finn in a way they couldn’t to Hux or Phasma as many still viewed them as strictly superiors. 

It was a joy to see Finn’s leader capabilities fully emerge, see him thrive and become confident in himself and his abilities. Even though he knew Finn had done most of the work by himself and deserved all of the credit, he still got a near overwhelming sense of pride whenever Finn showed just how long he had come since he stumbled his way off the Finalizer. 

Hux made his way into the cantina where he spotted said ex-trooper along with Rey and a very excited Milly, who jumped off the table with a loud trill as she spotted him. 

“You’re the one who insisted you wanted to spend the night in Rey’s room,” he reminded her fondly as he crouched down and held out his arm for her to climb.   
A long series of fast beeps followed. 

“Yes, I missed you too girl. Hello, it is lovely to see you,” he chuckled as he mimicked scratching under her chin to which she responded with a low trill that sounded more like a purr than anything. 

“You know, Rey keeps telling me that it is all wires and bolts inside that thing. But I still ain’t convinced you didn’t trap a live loth cat or something in there.” Finn shook his head. 

“See Finn, you calling Milly a “thing” is why she doesn’t like you,” Rey said as she rolled her eyes. Hux sat down next to her, Milly on his shoulder gently rubbing her head against his cheek and neck. 

“Are you being mean to my droid, Finn?” Hux arched an eyebrow. 

“Me mean to her? She’s mean to me! She hissed at me this morning Hux, hissed! Droids are not supposed to do that,” Finn grumbled. 

“Aw, you’re a special girl aren’t you Milly? Best droid in the galaxy,” Hux practically cooed and Milly’s odd mechanical purring grew in volume.

“She could do a lot worse you know, whenever Kylo Ren comes up in reports or conversation she uses extremely explicative curses. I am pretty sure Hux and I won’t need to do anything if he shows up, Milly will eviscerate him.” Rey smirked as Milly took a short break in her purring just to prove her point when Kylo Ren was mentioned. 

“And I blame R2-D2 for that language, she certainly didn’t get it from me,” Hux huffed before stealing some of Rey’s food to her loud protest until Finn offered her some of his as compensation.

“Isn’t R2-D2 like a big hero for most droid-kind? Would make sense he has a large influence on them.” Finn shrugged as he finished up his breakfast. 

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Hux huffed in reply. 

“Will you be joining me and Master Skywalker today, Hux? Or are there more meetings?” Rey made a grimace at the last part. Rey was not particularly fond of the politics that sometimes came into play during said meetings and plan-making. Hux on his part was half tempted to let her know just how much more politics there had been during meetings in The First Order, but knew he’d never get anywhere. 

“Since Phasma is a Captain now, she can fill in for me today after we send some of the Ex-troops on their first independent mission. I’ll come and join you and Master Skywalker after the send-off,” Hux instead replied which seemed to placate her.

“Oh that’s right, some of them were talking about that yesterday. They seemed very excited to be able to prove themselves as dependable.” Finn smiled.

“Oh, they are already dependable. This will be a way to prove our trust is not misplaced as neither I nor Phasma are coming with them. You should accompany me to the address though Finn, you’ll be getting a new assignment as well,” Hux continued. 

“Sure.” Finn nodded. 

They bid Rey farewell and headed towards the exterior of the base where the mission-ready troopers would be present. 

“Finn, I would like you to address the ex-troopers and accompany them as the mission leader,” Hux said casually before they reached the last hallway. Finn froze beside him, forcing Hux to stop his stride as well.

“What?” He stared at Hux. 

“Listen to me Finn, you are the leader they need. You were a trooper yourself, be their guide and let the leader I know is within you step forward. You won’t be doing this alone, both Phasma and I will help you of course. But you were meant for this Finn, I know it with all my being,” Hux said confidently as he faced the other man, putting a firm hand on his shoulder. 

“Don’t you think this is a little sudden?” Finn swallowed, but wasn’t cowering under Hux’s intense gaze. 

“On the contrary, you’ve already come so far. Time to let up the trooper visor and see that this truly is the path that’s been in front of you all along.”

“You’ve spent too much time reading those fanciful Jedi text books,” Finn muttered as he ducked his head, but there was a small smile playing around his lips and he started walking easily as Hux clapped him on the shoulder a few times. 

Hux and Phasma stood behind Finn as he gave his first ever speech as a recognized leader of the Ex-troops. Finn’s words carried weight and it was clear the troopers were hanging onto every word. Much easier to discern now that none of them wore helmets on the regular outside missions. Hux didn’t need to put out feelers to know that also Phasma carried a lot of pride in Finn, he hoped she let it show at least somewhat during this pivotal moment for the ex-troops. Finn’s voice never wavered as he addressed his fellow troopers, further cementing himself as one of them and someone they could lean on. In time Finn would grow to become an excellent leader, Hux truly did believe in what he had told the other earlier. 

Through the crowd he could also see commander Dameron leaning against a wall, watching the address with rapt attention. He was certainly not trying to hide any emotion as he was practically beaming pride and adoration in Finn’s general direction. Granted this was Dameron’s default state these days, but it was especially potent as Finn delivered his first address. 

As Finn announced he would be the troopers commanding officer during this mission, which received a lot of cheer from the trooper, he could see how Poe’s face fell. He almost had to audible sigh at this obvious lovesickness, but sometimes would haltingly admit he was curious if Finn returned the Commanders affections in silence. Not that he was curious enough to ask just yet however.   
Finn passed the word over to Hux when the time came to lay out the mission parameters. Hux stepped up and gave a no-nonsense description of the mission, its variables and goals. 

“Commander Dameron will be your pilot, any questions?” He could see how Poe’s head snapped up to attention. In reality Dameron hadn’t been assigned as the pilot, but he also had no other missions lined up in the near future. He was sure he could make it work, and the presence of a resistance original would placate those in the resistance who still had linger distrust in the ex-troopers. 

By Poe’s beaming’s face, Hux could tell Finn was smiling behind him. It really took all his willpower to not shake his head and sigh. Instead he opted for the familiar closing of a mission delivery in the resistance. 

“Good luck and may the force be with you.”


	16. Chapter 16

Rey had come a long way in the few months she had been actively training with Luke and Hux. She was more than a scavenger from Jakku now, even if she still had a lot to learn. Hux had also dedicated most of his time to training, outside of his resistance duties and the occasional R&R with friends and comrades. Games of sabacc and dejarik together with the former First Order officers had become a common occurrence for Hux, one he relished. Most of the officers were thriving in the resistance, with only a few showing a measure of regret at their decision to join them. And those few would rather take their chances here where there was a total of three Jedi, over attempting to go back to the volatile Kylo Ren.

“Focus, Armitage,” Luke chided him, causing Hux to open his eyes. They were all currently meditating, practicing mental shields.

“My shields are up,” he defended himself, only slightly flustered at having been caught letting his mind wander like a youngling. 

“Yes, too well. You’re not letting Rey close enough to even prod it, ease up.” Luke had not opened his own eyes, but his lips twitched at Rey’s snort. Hux huffed in response and closed his eyes again, focusing on tempering his shield and letting Rey in on the process. 

Shortly after Luke’s arrival on Ajan Kloss, Rey had confided in them that she had learned the truth about her connection to Kylo Ren. When Rey had gone to face Snoke, the ghoul had revealed he had doctored the connection between them. Snoke had planted the connection between them as bait for Rey. The bait had worked, however Snoke had not considered how the bond could affect Ren. It had led to his undoing. 

Through it all Hux had had the hardest time to avoid a gleeful, and childish, “I knew it.”. 

Apparently, Rey had seen it in him anyway as she scowled at him and pointed an accusing finger, simply saying: “Don’t.”

So he didn’t. 

In recent weeks, Rey continued, she had felt Ren prodding the connection as it was still present. Luke theorized it could be that Rey and Ren had cemented the bond through their natural power with the force. Whereas Hux worried this could mean Snoke wasn’t really dead, how he had pulled that off though was anyone’s guess. So for now they were going with the “powerful in the force”-theory. In any case Rey needed to learn how to counter Ren, and fast. Before the other learned how to exploit the connection to potentially spy on her, and in extension the resistance. 

Luckily for them, Ren didn’t possess much subtlety through the force. At least not at the level his now dead Master had possessed. Rey therefor never had a hard time being able to tell when Ren was attempting to open the connection. It did however have the odd side-effect that Rey was prone to picking up on whenever Ren felt surges of strong emotions, which was a common occurrence after most successful resistance operations. 

“Ugh, I think I’m getting a headache. Can’t we go back to force healing?” Rey interjected after another bout of silence between them.

“You do realize that is even more taxing than this, yes?” Hux snarked back to which Rey huffed.

“Yes, but at least you can _see_ when you make progress.”

“I can see your progress and it has been quite substantial, it lacks stamina however. If a force user launched a sustained mental attack you wouldn’t be able to face it   
alone,” Luke interrupted. “And if you are going to be working on anything, young lady, you should work on your force jumps,” he continued. 

“What, I am good at those!” Rey protested.

“If you call uncontrollably launching yourself into the air and hope you land right, is being good at it then sure.” Hux opened his eyes and met Rey’s frowning ones. 

“Just needs a little fine tuning.” She crossed her arms. 

“Needs practice.” Luke got up from the meditative pose. “I’ll go through the training grounds we set up, tweak it a bit for you both. We’ll do some more physical training tomorrow. Make sure my sister won’t you need you, Armitage.” He sent him a small smile before walking away from their designated meditation spot on base. 

“Feels like I’m getting nowhere,” Rey sighed and let herself fall back onto her back.

“That’s because you made leaping progress in the beginning, you are catching up to your natural ability. Now you must experience the gradual build most padawans go through from the very beginning,” Hux chuckled and got up. 

“You’re making amazing progress though, your healing has increased and you even managed that tiny teleport the other day!” Rey waved her hands through the air as she spoke, staring up at the rapidly darkening sky. 

“Because I am simply putting myself back in touch properly with the force, and am able to pick up where I left off before I went undercover. As well as apply my new knowledge and skills,” he countered easily.

“Yes, Yes I know. Need to be patient and all that, and really I don’t want to rush. I guess I just… feel the need to improve as fast as possible because of The First Order… and Ren,” She sighed and let her hands fall down and fold over her middle. 

“I get that Rey, take heart in knowing that if we were to meet Ren today you would more than be able to just hold your own against him. Without risking an arm and a leg this time.”  
She narrowed her eyes at him, but it was mostly in jest as she let up soon enough. 

“Thanks, Armitage.”

“Anytime Rey.”

The rest of his evening was spent looking over reports with Phasma and making sure he could be free the following day for training with Luke and Rey. Finn and his group were making good time and would start the mission in the early hours of the morning, base time. Phasma would notify him if he needed to be in the control room.   
He eventually bid her good night, nudging Milly who was powered down on the table so she could ride his shoulder back to their room.   
The little bot barely had time to settle on Hux’s pillow, and Hux started preparing for said bed, before there was an insistent knock on his door.   
He opened it to find a frazzled Rey on the other side. 

“It’s Ren, he’s trying to push through and he’s much more insistent than before,” she said in lieu of explanation and Hux made room for her to come in without another word. They had practiced for this, Hux would aid Rey if she needed it as Hux himself had shielded himself from both Snoke and Ren for years while in close proximity to the other force users. 

“Whuu?” Milly looked up as she spotted Rey. 

“I’m fine, I just need Hux’s help,” she reassured the bot who quickly nestled down again. 

“Here.” He took her hand in his and sat them both down at the edge of his cot. Rey had an easier time discerning friend from foe if there was physical contact between them and not just the mental link of the force. This would quickly change, Hux was sure as he believed she mostly had a need when things got to be overwhelming or frightening. Physical comfort had been a luxury Rey hadn’t been privy to during her childhood, thus it seemed to have an even deeper effect on her now as a young adult. 

She gripped his hand tightly as she closed her eyes, getting her breath under control. Hux followed suite and let Rey pull him into her own mindscape. Normally Rey preferred a lush landscape, with water in some form or other wherever you turned. Often accompanied by the sound of waves or trickling rain even if neither could be seen. In situations such as these though, she returned to the vast sand dunes of Jakku. The land barren and desolate, constructed so intruders could easily be visualized. 

“Show me your walls Rey,” he gently urged and from the sand sprouted thick durasteel plates, the kind one would find on star destroyers. 

There was only one door, and it carried tell-tale marks of a lightsaber attempting to break through. Of course, Ren could never do anything with subtlety. Hux searched for the connection between Rey and Ren, it was easier to get ahold of when I was allowed in Rey’s mindscape. It also made it much easier to search out Ren through the force and get a feel for him. 

“If I can just push him away properly, I don’t think he’ll try again tonight.” Rey glared at the visible doors. 

“I agree.” Sensing that his calm and confidence was bringing Rey some much needed peace of mind.   
With their combined strength the pushed Ren’s presence back, forcing him out of the connection temporarily. For a moment Hux thought he could feel a sense of surprise that did not belong to neither him nor Rey, but it vanished just as sudden as it appeared. 

“It would appear that we’re not the only ones doing some training,” Hux made a note as he opened his eyes again, meeting Rey’s. 

“What if I can’t keep him out forever?” Rey’s voice was quiet. 

“Even if you ended up face to face again within the connection, I am confident you will not lose your control to him. You are already strong, Rey. You shouldn’t doubt that.” He put his other hand over their already joined ones, giving a reassuring squeeze. 

“Okay, yeah…” she nodded, mostly to herself before looking up at him again. “How are you so calm anyway?” She sighed. 

“I believe in you, and I have certainty that I won’t stray myself,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

“Wish my own head could be so sure.” She shook her head as she got up from the bed. “Thank you, Armitage. Your help means a lot to me.” She looked at him again, the sincerity clearly visible in her features. 

“And it is always available,” he replied steadily. 

She smiled at that, before bidding him goodnight and left him by himself again. Once he could feel her presence move away back towards her own room he let his shoulders sag ever so slightly. Today had been rather long, and his juggling of different duties were taking their toll. Instead of going back to paperwork, Hux instead opted to simply go straight to sleep. Hopefully it would be a restful one. Slipping under the covers felt like a blessing in on itself. 

That night however, Hux was caught into yet another of his dreams about Ben. This one appeared a little different however, he was back in his old chambers on The Finalizer or something akin to that. On the bed sat a startled Ben Solo, staring at him. He looked different from how he usually appeared in Hux’s dreams, older and closer in appearance to his memory of the shirtless Kylo Ren from Rey’s memories. This didn’t diminish the usual pull Hux felt towards the other man however and he swallowed thickly as Ben got up from the pristine bed, seemingly a lot more hesitant than usual. 

“Suddenly so shy?” Hux teased and could see Ben scowling, just like he used to whenever Hux brought attention to his tendency to do first, think later.   
Ben strode over to him, enveloping his shoulders with hands that were larger than Hux remembered, and pulled him into a messy kiss. Hux responded eagerly, even if the youthful kiss was both uncoordinated and a little too sloppy. 

“Slow down, Ben. There is no rush,” he chuckled as they pulled back slightly.   
Ben appeared to falter slightly as Hux said his name, for a brief moment Hux had the thought that he would wake up now. Saying “Ben” always cut his dreams short, like a very efficient kill switch he didn’t have proper control over. The thought evaporated as Ben dove back in however, only slowing down somewhat in his continued enthusiastic kissing. 

“But I’ve missed you, Armitage…” His voice was so quiet, so sincere. And Hux felt himself melt against the other as he let his arms pull the younger man closer. 

“I’m here now, Ben.” He smiled against his ear, just enjoying holding him close for just a moment. 

“And are you still mine?” It was near a faint whisper. 

“I’ve always been yours, Ben.” Hux pulled back and brought his fingers under Ben’s chin, guiding him into a sweet and tender kiss. 

He felt how Ben’s hands moved around his back, locking him in place as the kiss deepened steadily. His mind was getting foggier by the minute as breathing was reduced to short gasps in-between the press of lips and tongue.   
Ben broke the kiss properly first, hands releasing their hold so curious fingers could dance down Hux’s tunic instead. Slipping in between the folds to find heated skin to tease. Everywhere he touched felt like electricity and heat all in one, making Hux shudder as he let his own hands run up and down Ben’s broad back. 

“Can I really have you again?” Ben’s voice washed over him after he had managed to push Hux’s tunic off of his shoulders.   
Hux didn’t trust himself to be properly eloquent at this point however, and simply used both hands to gently caress Ben’s face before drawing him into another kiss. He pushed Ben back towards the bed, following easily as Ben let himself fall back onto the dark sheets. Taking in how Ben looked under him made his mouth water and he had to swallow again, finding his voice somehow through the headiness he felt. 

“Only If I get to see you,” he ordered and delighted in how Ben’s pupils widened before the other sat up effortlessly, even with Hux seated on his legs. 

“Perfect.” He let his fingers draw down from Hux’s cheek down to his chest, stopping just over his heart. Hux placed his own hand over Ben’s, hoping he could feel just how much his heart was aching with joy as he leant in again. 

He lost track after that, there was just so much sensation. And it felt so tangible and real he was afraid he was going to wake up at any moment. Both their trousers had vanished to somewhere and Ben had practically summoned slick from thin air. Hux wasn’t too preoccupied in realizing from where as long as ben kept moving his fingers like that while Hux held onto the other’s shoulders for support as he leant against him. 

“Nhh…Ben, please…!” He groaned with eyes clenched shut, panting against a straining neck. 

“Were you always this verbal?” Ben’s own voice held a breathy quality.

“One learns to communicate if one wants to have a satisfying encounter,” Hux sniped back before taking Ben’s earlobe in between his teeth, hearing Ben give a hiss instead of a proper reply. 

It all went rather quickly after that. Hux let himself sink down onto Ben, causing Ben to make what was quickly becoming Hux’s favorite sound in the whole universe. And despite wanting to take his time with this, really savor it all, he felt an odd sense of urgency that drove him to set a near punishing pace that had them both panting heavily. 

“Kriff…Armitage-“ Hux cut him off with a searing kiss as he felt himself toppling over the edge, evidently dragging Ben with him if the sudden arms locking around him were any indication.

Hux practically fell off to the side as the kiss ended, winded and more satisfied than ever before. Ben landed beside him with a loud groan, spreading his arms out to the side. Hux took it as an invitation and drew closer, putting his head on Ben’s shoulder and closing his eyes for a moment, enjoying the aftermath. 

“That was… really something,” Ben breathed, causing Hux to chuckle. He was, however, pleased to note that Ben had turned so that he could curl his arms around Hux again. Feeling warm and sated like this cause a wave of drowsiness to wash over him, and he couldn’t hold back a small yawn. The odd sense of urgency would not leave him however, so he instead opted to use the time to talk to Ben. Or at the very least attempt to. 

He had many things he wished to say to the other, but what came out was a quiet and small “Why did you leave me, Ben?”

He felt Ben shift ever so slightly, looking down at him. Hux tilted his head up to meet those deep brown eyes, seeing the hurt in them made his own stomach twist.

“I didn’t think I had you anymore,” Ben admitted silently. 

“That…” Hux’s eyelids became heavy as Ben’s face started to blur in front of him, “is a very shit reason,” He managed to mumble before falling asleep, clutching Ben closer. 

As his eyes closed however, they opened and stared up at the ceiling in his room at Ajan Kloss. He didn’t need to look at a chronometer to tell it was early morning. It didn’t feel like he had slept even a wink however, had the dream really been that intense? As memories of the dream came back to him, he became aware of another situation down south. He even had to check himself, the very notion was that ludicrous. 

He, a man in his thirties, had kriffing spent himself untouched due to an exciting dream like a wet eared teen. He wasted no time getting himself into the sonic and cleaned himself off. Before taking a shameful trip to sanitation to get rid of all the evidence. No one was present at sanitation this early in the morning however, so   
Hux got away with his image intact. 

The incident still made his cheeks burn whenever it came to mind, so Hux elected to push it away as far as possible and instead focus on the tasks of the day.


End file.
